Hailed by the NCUA and the National Treasury Employees Union asa frugal deal that also protects employees' needs, a five-yearcollective bargaining agreement between the two groups was signedon July 6. Not everyone, however, saw the agreement as asuccess.

NCUA Board Member J. Mark McWatters was not supportive of theprocess, and doesn't know whether he agrees with the terms because,as of press time, McWatters said he had not been given a copy ofthe final terms.

“As is typical with the NCUA these days, the lack oftransparency concerning the negotiation and execution of thecollective bargaining agreement with the National TreasuryEmployees Union is disappointing,” McWatters said in a writtenstatement. “I was not provided with draft copies of the bargainingagreement, was not afforded the opportunity to comment on theagreement during the negotiation process, and the final agreementwas not presented to the Board for vetting nor for approval orrejection.”

McWatters also said he was displeased with the way thecollective bargaining agreement was handled.

“This action demonstrates why budget hearings are critical tothe transparent and fully accountable operations of the NCUA. Whilewages constitute the largest line item in the NCUA's budget, theboard (or at least my office) was precluded from exercisingeffective oversight in negotiating the new collective bargainingagreement,” he continued. “At an absolute minimum, the chair shouldhave consulted with the board before consenting to bind the agencyfor an unprecedented five-year term of the contract. Interestingly,I have not yet received a copy of the final executedagreement.”

In a confidential NCUA document obtained by CU Times,the collective bargaining agreement between the NCUA and NTEUspelled out the long list of negotiating terms. It includedreimbursement for all employees for the cost of professionallicenses required as part of their position, larger relocation sumsfor employees moving to Washington and an increase in payraises.

NCUA Communication Specialist Ben Hardaway said the agreementrepresented the best interests of the organization as well as theemployees, and reiterated the belief that the agreement wasfiscally responsible.

“The NCUA's new collective bargaining agreement strikes abalance between fiscal responsibility and attracting and retaininghigh quality employees, which are essential for the NCUA to fulfillits mission,” Hardaway said. “The savings and costs were projectedfor every change in the new agreement's language. When all of thechanges are factored in, the new collective bargaining agreement isprojected to reduce future cost growth by over $17 million,compared to the prior agreement.”

Some worried, however, about the agreement's cost and whetherthe NCUA was being transparent enough.

“CUNA has consistently called for greater transparency in theNCUA's budget process,” CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle said. “Thecredit union system, which funds almost all of the NCUA'sactivities, has no input into or influence over collectivebargaining agreements; therefore, we expect that the NCUA willnegotiate a deal in the best interest of credit unions. To theextent that this agreement increases costs at the agency, weencourage and expect the NCUA to look for corresponding expensesavings elsewhere.”

The previous collective bargaining agreement, signed in 2011,stated that the “NCUA will adhere to congressional or presidentialfreezes that apply to statutory pay systems, including applicablelocality rates. In any year that a pay freeze is in effect, themerit pay and locality adjustments included in this article willnot apply.”

The new agreement removed the pay freeze language completely, aswell as removed employees from the GS pay range, insteadguaranteeing pay raises would go neither above nor below 1%annually in the first two years and 1.25% each year thereafter.

The bottom of each pay range was increased and current employeeswere scheduled to be raised to the new minimum of their grade asearly as July 6, when the CBA was signed.

The lump sum paid to employees who exceed their base pay cap ortotal pay cap was changed to a percentage amount that cannot exceed$12,500. In addition, the non-competitive promotion minimum wasincreased from 8% to 9%, and competitive promotions went from 9% to10%.

In a statement released July 6, NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz said,“Two of my goals as NCUA Chairman have been to foster labormanagement cooperation and make the NCUA an employer of choice. Itrespects and responds to the needs and concerns of management andemployees and is a commitment by both to work together tocontinually improve the working environment.”

The bargaining agreement also appeared to point to futurepredictions that the federal government would indeed shut downagain. It included a provision that all telework employees wouldcontinue to telecommute from home when the government closes.

In a small victory for employees, language in the agreementstated that they would be reimbursed for expedited screeningservices for either TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry up to $85.Employees can now also be reimbursed for nonrefundable airfare whencanceling travel due to personal emergencies.

NAFCU cautioned prudence in expanding wages and benefits.

“NAFCU expects the NCUA…to take the utmost care in all elementsof its budgeting, including negotiating staff salaries and benefitsas part of the collective bargaining agreement,” Carrie Hunt,senior vice president of government affairs/general counsel, said.“As credit unions have no ability to comment or have input on anypart of the NCUA's budget process, they are in effect captured bythe decisions of the NCUA. NAFCU believes that the NCUA budgetrequires a line by line scrutiny at all levels, especially sinceemployee salary and benefits makes up such a large portion of itsoverall expenditures.”

The agreement was also historically significant in that pastagreements were negotiated for three years at a time. Thisfive-year agreement will still be in place long after the currentchairman, who is nearing the end of her term, has left. In 2020,her successor will also be close to ending his or her six-yearterm.

The NTEU represents approximately 950 of nearly 1,250 employeesat the NCUA.