Union, SEC reach labor agreement

The National Treasury Employees Union and the Securities and Exchange Commission reached a tentative agreement Tuesday on a three-year labor contract that includes flexible work schedules, childcare and transit subsidies and repayment of student loans. The 2,000 SEC employees represented by NTEU must vote on the agreement, but union officials say the agreement is "a positive step forward." "Now that we have reached an agreement on a contract, I look forward to an improving relationship at this agency," said NTEU President Colleen Kelley. SEC employees elected to join a union two years ago after a year-long struggle with management that ended when the Federal Labor Relations Authority ruled in favor of a single, nationwide bargaining unit for the agency's exempt and nonexempt staff. SEC management wanted the agency subdivided into 11 separate bargaining units. The tentative agreement does not resolve an argument between union officials and SEC management over a new pay system at the agency, but Kelley is hopeful the new agreement will move that issue forward. "Hopefully it will energize the SEC to resolve our continuing dispute over pay parity," Kelley said. "Pay parity is critical for curbing the serious recruitment and retention problems that have clearly contributed to the agency's inability to do the job the nation wants and expects in today's challenging environment." The tentative agreement would:

• Allow employees to work a flexible work schedule with credit hours. Employees on this schedule could work up to two credit hours each work day, up to eight hours on a non-work day, and could carry over up to 24 credit hours from one pay period to the next.
• Allow employees to work at home up to two days per week on a regular schedule, or five consecutive days on a project. The decision to grant or deny an employee's request for a recurring or ad hoc telework arrangement generally would be based on the nature and content of the employee's job and whether the arrangement interfered with the agency's ability to meet its mission or staffing and workload requirements.
• Allow up to two hours of overtime pay after the hours have been worked if the work was mandatory. Employees could receive compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay.
• Increase the monthly transportation subsidy to $85. NTEU may re-open the agreement if the agency does not increase the subsidy to $100 within one year.
• Include a sliding scale of childcare subsidies for employees-ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent of the employee's total childcare costs-for families with incomes below $50,000.
• Allow the SEC to identify target group(s) in a certain job series or offices to offer student loan benefits based on recruitment or retention needs. The SEC could provide a student loan benefit for eligible employees based on established criteria relating to contribution to the agency's mission, customer service, leadership and teamwork.
• Base performance awards on established criteria relating to an employee's contribution to the agency's mission, customer service, leadership, problem-solving, creativity, innovation, and teamwork.
• Set performance standards that identify expectations or requirements that would have to be met for performance to be rated as acceptable. The standards would have to be reasonably related to an employee's position description.
• Establish criteria for the fair and equitable selection and assignment of employees to training consistent with merit system principles.
• Establish a grievance procedure using a third-party arbitrator. The agreement also would establish less formal procedures to expedite processing of certain categories of cases, including those concerning a denial of an employee's work schedule or telework request.
• Prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation and disability. Under the proposed agreement, the SEC and the NTEU would create an equal employment opportunity committee to discuss relevant EEO employment issues.
• Provide for an ongoing, cooperative labor-management relations program.