NTEU - National Treasury Employees Union
NTEU - National Treasury Employees Union
21/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 22/08/2024 21:30
FDIC Employees Frustrated at Lack of Workplace Change
WASHINGTON - Eight months after the release of management's action plan to combat harassment and bullying, most frontline FDIC employees represented by the National Treasury Employees Union are frustrated at the lack of progress.
"Frontline employees are not being consulted, offenders are evading discipline and there is an overall lack of confidence in FDIC's current leadership team to improve the workplace culture," said NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald.
FDIC Chairman Gruenberg announced his "action plan " last year to address misconduct, but it was written without input from NTEU or its members. At Greenwald's insistence, NTEU leaders from around the country were added to FDIC working groups developing reforms to prevent harassment and hold offenders accountable, but employees and NTEU leaders are disappointed in the lack of meaningful collaboration and change.
Worse yet, employees still fear retribution for coming forward about mistreatment and continue to see improper behavior go unpunished, employees told NTEU.
NTEU expects the next Chair of the FDIC to commit to working with employees and NTEU to create lasting change and build a workplace where employees are treated with respect, everyone is held to the same standards and managers who violate those standards are appropriately disciplined.
"A workplace with such pervasive issues can only get better with real accountability, transparency, and trust," said Greenwald.
Among the changes NTEU is calling for are better anti-harassment and implicit bias training for managers, more transparency about workplace incidents and their resolution, an end to the practice of transferring offenders instead of holding them accountable, and full disclosure of turnover rates in each FDIC office to help identify problem areas and pave the way for a more respectful and accountable workplace.
"Our message to FDIC leadership has been clear from the outset: Progress is only possible when employees are given a meaningful voice in the process," Greenwald said.
NTEU represents employees in 35 federal agencies and offices.