Kelley Keeps Top NTEU Job

Colleen Kelley will continue to lead the National Treasury Employees Union for the next four years. She was re-elected to a fourth term Tuesday at the union's 53rd National Convention, held in Seattle. Kelley won by a wide margin, getting 86 percent of the vote. The remaining votes went to challenger Eddie Walker who currently serves as president of the local NTEU chapter in Austin, Texas.

Walker criticized Kelley for losing the recent election to represent Transportation Security Administration screeners, stating that her tactic of targeting employees working at large airports was largely ineffective. Screeners picked the American Federation of Government Employees instead.

Additionally, Kelley has come under criticism for centralizing control of the union, rather than giving chapter leaders more power.

A former Internal Revenue Service revenue agent, Kelley began her tenure in 1999, after serving a term as NTEU's national vice president. In recent months, she has continued to lobby Congress to preserve the pay and benefits of the federal workforce amid debt and budget discussions.

"No matter what else is going on," she said in a press release, "the American people can count on our members, and our members can count on NTEU."