NTEU343 in the News
On February 1, 2024, the Federal News Network released an article about our chapter, NTEU Chapter 343 at FHFA.
The article features quotes from an interview of our Interim President, NTEU, who discusses the organizing campaign, reasons for unionization, chapter priorities entering negotiations, and more.
Here are some quotes from the article:
“It was almost exactly two years ago that a small group of employees, including myself, reached out to a couple of national unions trying to form a chapter at FHFA,” Watkins said in an interview. “We wanted, first and foremost, to give employees a voice.”
The creation of a bargaining unit has been a long time coming. Over the last few years, FHFA has experienced a decline in employee engagement, according to the results of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) and the Partnership for Public Service’s Best Places to Work rankings. Satisfaction with pay, similar to federal employees at many other agencies, has also been declining for several years.
“I’m completely confident that management and senior leaders, when we get to the table with them, will recognize that we are all humans and colleagues working toward the same goal,” Watkins said. “I hope that by the end of contract negotiations — as difficult as the process will be — we’ll really have that mutual benefit that unions provide for federal agencies. I’m hopeful that we’ll work hand in hand with the agency in the future.”
See the full article on the Federal News Network website.
