WASHINGTON-Members of the National Treasury Employees Union at the FDIC recently ratified a new, four-year compensation agreement. The new deal increases pay and retains important existing benefits after agency efforts to reduce them, according to NTEU. It preserves the 5% employer matching contributions to the FDIC Savings Plan and maintains of the corporation's present 83% contribution to employee health care costs. FDIC sought to reduce that payment to the government-wide average of 72%, which would have doubled employee health care premiums, NTEU said. NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said the new agreement, which calls for overall pay increases averaging 4.2% each year through 2009, with a possible extension into 2010, provides FDIC employees with a compensation package "that is among the best, if not the best, in the federal government." NTEU and FDIC will return to the bargaining table to discuss locality pay later this year. NTEU represents approx-imately 3,300 FDIC employees.