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Washington, D.C.-- Vice President A1 Gore, a long-time supporter of federal employee rights, today promised strong Clinton Administration support in the battle against attacks on the collective bargaining rights of the men and women of the federal workforce.

The Vice President made the pledge to more than 320 leaders from around the country at the annual legislative conference of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the nation's largest independent federal sector union. NTEU, led by its long-time president Robert M. Tobias, represents some 155,000 employees in 21 agencies and departments.

Vice President Gore took note of unsuccessful efforts by Congress last year to erode federal employee bargaining rights in the Customs Service by granting the Customs commissioner the unilateral right to void certain contractual provisions if, in the commissioner's sole judgment, they hindered the nation's drug interdiction effort. NTEU represents more than 12,000 Customs employees.

He said he and President Clinton strongly support both the collective bargaining process and the right of employees to organize, and "will prevent" such legislation from being enacted. Protection of employee bargaining rights is one of NTEU's priority legislative issues this year.

Among the others--each of which was supported by Vice President Gore in his remarks-are the ability of federal employees to have a meaningful voice in the debate over-possible changes in Social Security; the need for affordable child day care in federal workplaces; and a federal pay raise that recognizes the significant contribution of federal employees to the first budget surplus in 30 years and which is in line with federal law calling for closing the gap between private and public sector pay.

Tobias said he was "very pleased" that the Vice President "recognizes the threat to federal employees" from attempts to curtail their bargaining rights and circumvent their contracts, and that NTEU "welcomes the administration's support in this fight." Conference delegates responded to the Gore statement with a standing ovation.