National Treasury Employees Union

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) is an independent labor union representing approximately 150,000 civilian federal employees in the United States and associated jurisdictions. Although its institutional roots are in the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the union now represents bargaining-unit employees in a broad range of federal departments, agencies, commissions, and administrative offices. Its members include employees in varied occupational classifications and pay grades, with the union generally focused on nonsupervisory personnel. NTEU originated in Wisconsin in 1938, when Internal Revenue collectors created the National Association of Employees of Collectors of the Internal Revenue to advocate for civil-service protections, equitable compensation, and improved working conditions. The organization held its first national convention in Milwaukee in 1939. Following the 1952 reorganization of the Bureau of Internal Revenue as the Internal Revenue Service, it adopted the name National Association of Internal Revenue Employees. During its early period, management and supervisory participation limited its effectiveness and gave it more of the character of a professional association than an assertive labor union. That structure changed in the 1960s as federal executive orders excluded supervisors and managers from participating in employee organizations. In 1966, Vincent L. Connery and his allies defeated a proposed merger with the American Federation of Government Employees. They then introduced a new constitution, expanded organizing, and redirected the organization toward collective representation. The association received a federal employee-union charter in 1967. In 1973, after broadening its membership throughout the Treasury Department, it adopted the NTEU name. NTEU expanded beyond the IRS through organizing drives and mergers. Its 1975 merger with the National Customs Service Association brought a large group of Customs employees into the union and included governance guarantees for the former association. In 1977, NTEU began representing employees outside the Treasury Department; Federal Communications Commission employees became its first such members in 1978. Later growth extended its reach into agencies concerned with public health, financial regulation, national security, environmental protection, transportation and border administration, social insurance, public lands, and other federal functions. The union is also known for using litigation and administrative proceedings to supplement the narrower bargaining rights and restrictions on strikes applicable to federal employees. Its legal work has addressed federal pay, disciplinary authority, informational picketing, drug testing, personnel records, and agency labor-relations decisions. In 1972, NTEU challenged the Nixon administration's postponement of General Schedule salary increases, producing a major back-pay result for affected federal employees. It also litigated employee-removal and workplace-rights cases and brought a constitutional challenge involving random drug testing of Customs inspectors to the U.S. Supreme Court. NTEU's present role combines contract bargaining, grievance handling, representation in disciplinary matters, legislative advocacy, organizing, and litigation. Its represented workforce spans dozens of federal entities, including the IRS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Patent and Trademark Office, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The union remains active in disputes over federal workforce policies, agency restructuring, employee due process, privacy, and the continuity of public services.

NTEU began in 1938 as the National Association of Employees of Collectors of the Internal Revenue, formed by Internal Revenue collectors in Wisconsin. The founders sought stronger civil-service protections, fairer salaries, and better working conditions and believed that existing organizations did not adequately represent Internal Revenue employees. A national convention held in Milwaukee in October 1939 established a permanent organization. After the Bureau of Internal Revenue became the Internal Revenue Service in 1952, the organization changed its name to the National Association of Internal Revenue Employees and attempted to broaden its membership. For a time, its leadership and membership included substantial management and supervisory participation. That influence limited its ability to act as a strong labor organization. Executive orders in the early 1960s that barred supervisors and managers from participating in federal employee organizations helped remove this obstacle. In 1966, Vincent L. Connery was elected national president and led opposition to a proposed merger with AFGE. His supporters pursued an organizing program, adopted a new constitution, and reshaped the association into an active federal labor union. It received a federal employee-union charter in 1967. The organization expanded across the Treasury Department in 1973 and adopted the name National Treasury Employees Union. NTEU then sought to represent Customs employees. In 1975, it merged with the National Customs Service Association, with the merger including provisions for NCSA participation in NTEU governance. The union began organizing beyond Treasury in 1977, and Federal Communications Commission employees joined in 1978. This expansion eventually produced a multi-agency union representing employees in departments, commissions, and independent federal agencies across the country. Litigation became a central part of NTEU's strategy because federal labor law limits the bargaining rights and traditional economic tactics available to government employees. In NTEU v. Nixon, the union challenged the postponement of General Schedule pay increases and obtained a judgment that led to more than $533 million in back pay for federal employees. In Boyce v. United States, it helped establish that an agency did not possess unlimited discretion in imposing removals and that mitigating circumstances could make a removal an abuse of discretion. NTEU v. Fasser supported federal employees' right to engage in informational picketing. The union also litigated random drug testing of Customs inspectors in NTEU v. Von Raab, a case that reached the Supreme Court, and opposed other federal personnel initiatives through court and administrative proceedings. Leadership passed from Connery to Robert M. Tobias in 1983. Colleen M. Kelley became national president after her election in 1999. In 2007, the Federal Labor Relations Authority certified NTEU as the exclusive representative of roughly 21,000 employees in the newly consolidated Customs and Border Protection workforce, following an election victory over a rival union. In the 2020s, NTEU continued to combine collective representation with litigation over federal workforce management, including 2025 actions concerning Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees, work orders, and access to personnel records. The union currently represents approximately 150,000 employees in 35 federal departments and agencies, including personnel in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada.

• 2007

  Wins exclusive representation at Customs and Border Protection

  [1]National Treasury Employees Unionen.wikipedia.org

  The Federal Labor Relations Authority certifies NTEU as the exclusive representative for approximately 21,000 CBP bargaining-unit employees.

• 1978

  Begins representing employees outside Treasury

  [1]National Treasury Employees Unionen.wikipedia.org

  Federal Communications Commission employees become the first members represented by NTEU outside the Treasury Department.

• 1975

  Merges with the National Customs Service Association

  [1]National Treasury Employees Unionen.wikipedia.org

  The merger brings Customs employees into NTEU and establishes participation provisions for the former association.

• 1973

  Adopts the NTEU name

  [1]National Treasury Employees Unionen.wikipedia.org

  The organization expands across the Treasury Department and becomes the National Treasury Employees Union.

• 1967

  Receives federal employee-union charter

  [1]National Treasury Employees Unionen.wikipedia.org

  After leadership and constitutional changes, the organization receives a charter as a federal employee union.

• 1952

  Renamed after the IRS reorganization

  [1]National Treasury Employees Unionen.wikipedia.org

  Following creation of the Internal Revenue Service, the organization becomes the National Association of Internal Revenue Employees.

• 1939

  First national convention

  [1]National Treasury Employees Unionen.wikipedia.org

  A convention in Milwaukee launches the predecessor association as a permanent national organization.

• 1938

  Internal Revenue employees form the predecessor organization

  [1]National Treasury Employees Unionen.wikipedia.org

  Wisconsin Internal Revenue collectors establish the National Association of Employees of Collectors of the Internal Revenue to pursue civil-service protections, compensation, and improved working conditions.

An independent, litigation-oriented federal-sector labor union that combines workplace representation with legislative advocacy and court challenges on behalf of civilian government employees.

• Labor union services

  Federal employee representation

  NTEU represents nonsupervisory civilian federal employees in collective bargaining, workplace disputes, disciplinary matters, grievances, and related administrative proceedings. Its represented employees work across many occupational classifications and pay levels in Treasury and non-Treasury agencies.

• Legal and policy advocacy

  Federal labor litigation and advocacy

  The union uses federal courts, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and legislative advocacy to address pay, personnel rules, employee due process, workplace rights, privacy, and agency labor-relations decisions. Litigation is an important complement to the restricted economic tactics available in the federal sector.

• 1977Expansion beyond the Treasury Department

  United States

  NTEU began organizing employees in federal agencies outside Treasury.

  Outcome. FCC employees became the first non-Treasury members in 1978, establishing the basis for later multi-agency growth.

  Source
• 1973Treasury-wide expansion campaign

  United States

  NTEU broadened its organizing base from Internal Revenue employees to employees throughout the Treasury Department.

  Outcome. The expanded organization adopted the National Treasury Employees Union name.

  Source
• 1966Union transformation and organizing campaign

  United States

  Under Vincent L. Connery, the organization rejected a proposed AFGE merger and pursued a new constitution and organizing program intended to turn a management-influenced professional association into an active labor union.

  Outcome. The organization received a federal employee-union charter in 1967 and later expanded throughout Treasury.

  Source

• 2025

  Challenges CFPB work orders and employee-record accessOther

  Background

  NTEU alleged that an acting CFPB director ordered federal employees into an unauthorized form of leave and allowed DOGE access to employee records without the required consent.

  Action taken

  NTEU filed two lawsuits in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking to halt the challenged work-status directive and records access.

  Aftermath

  The outcomes were not known in the cited reference material.

  Source

• 2007

  Secures exclusive representation at CBPOther

  Background

  Employees at Customs and Border Protection came from the former Customs Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Agriculture Department, creating a contested representation environment.

  Action taken

  NTEU contested the representation election and obtained certification from the Federal Labor Relations Authority.

  Aftermath

  NTEU became the sole representative for approximately 21,000 CBP bargaining-unit employees after winning 7,349 votes to a rival union's 3,426.

  Source

• 1972

  Challenges postponement of federal salary increasesOther

  Background

  The Nixon administration postponed General Schedule salary increases without the congressional action NTEU believed was required.

  Action taken

  NTEU brought NTEU v. Nixon to challenge the postponement in federal court.

  Aftermath

  The litigation produced an unprecedented union victory and required the government to pay more than $533 million in back pay to affected federal employees.

  Back pay awarded. more than $533 million (Result of litigation; year of award not specified in the cited material)

  Source

1. 1National Treasury Employees Unionen.wikipedia.org
2. 2National Treasury Employees Union official websitenteu.org