NTEU has pushed for a larger budget for the IRS and because of that, there has been more hiring in 2019 than in recent years. If you are a new hire, it is because NTEU fought for the funding for those jobs. If you are in an area with new hires, we know you think it is a blessing to have some help as the IRS has lost thousands of employees in the last few years. NTEU will continue to fight for more funding for the IRS so that we are properly staffed. Our campus suffered a great loss this year with the closing of Submission Processing on September 30, 2019, but Chapter 73 is proud to say that there were 847 employees that found continued employment with the agency (including 402 who received higher grades). There were also 576 employees that were able to retire. We also had numerous employees that received severance pay through the VSIP program.
The passage of a paid parental leave program is one of the biggest legislative victories for federal employees since the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. This new benefit doesn’t mean our fight for paid family leave is over. NTEU continues to strongly support legislation that would provide a broader policy that covers seriously ill employees and their family members.
We have had several lunch time meetings with employees to hear their concerns, and we will continue to do this. All the events we hosted in 2019 were a great success and we hope to provide other opportunities in 2020 for employees to enjoy union outings. NTEU 73 is looking forward to continuing to change more things so that we can reach every member, every event, and every time.
Happy New Year!