Some Questions and Answers

The Answers You Need - Both now and might need before too long

Are there benefits to being a member of NTEU?

Yes. There are many benefits.

Money-saving Benefits

Discover the array of money-saving benefits exclusively for NTEU members.

Insurance―Life happens. NTEU members can choose from a variety of insurance products including life, accident, disability, cancer and critical illness. There are also group discounts on auto, homeowners’ and renters’ policies.

Travel/Car―Save money on hotel stays and rental cars. Time for an oil change? Save at participating Jiffy Lube locations.

Wholesale Clubs―Save money with discounted membership fees and free gifts from Costco.

Health Care Services―Get discounts on health screenings provided by Life Line Screenings at convenient locations in your community.

Professional Services―NTEU has a special discount for members looking to become Certified Public Accountants or needing attorney services.

Home and Moving―Don’t put up a “For Sale” sign without first checking out NTEU’s home-moving discounts. NTEU members can receive a cash rebate from Weichert Relocation Resources, Inc. and save on National Van Lines services

Workplace-improving Benefits

Having a say in decisions affecting your work life is one great benefit that nonmembers do not have. Here are other workplace-improving benefits you have as an NTEU member:

You can influence workplace decisions. With NTEU, your opinions matter. You can vote to elect your chapter leaders and play an active role in your chapter’s affairs. You can influence and ratify new contracts NTEU has bargained on your behalf.

You can be part of - and vested in - a powerful organization that fights for your rights. The many rights and benefits enjoyed by federal employees didn’t come easily. No one handed them to us, not Congress, not the White House, not any federal agency. NTEU members won them, at the bargaining table, through legislation and by having a voice in the workplace.

Members Benefits

Does a non-member have to be represented?

Can NTEU help during Probationary Period?

Is it true that there is a non-profit organization whose only purpose is to help federal employees help each other in times of need?

Yes. That organization is the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA). When a major storm strikes, a car breaks down or a spouse loses a job, FEEA is there for these federal employees who need an extra hand. For more than 30 years, FEEA has been there to assist federal employees in times of dire need by providing grants and no-interest loans.

NTEU is a founding member of FEEA and National President Tony Reardon serves on the FEEA Board of Directors.

Emergency Assistance

FEEA offers eligible federal employees confidential, no-interest loans in times of emergency. Loans up to $1,200 are available for:

Severe illness or injury of employee or immediate family member
Death of employee's immediate family member
Major loss/damage to primary residence due to natural disaster
Victim of domestic violence
Separation or divorce
Spouse’s loss of employment due to layoff

FEEA has given more than 11,000 loans to federal employees totaling nearly $8 million since 1986. Get additional information and an application.

Disaster Relief

FEEA offers disaster relief grants up to $500 to eligible federal employees in the aftermath of floods, hurricanes, winter storms, wildfires, droughts and tornadoes. The charity has paid out more than 9,000 disaster relief grants totaling $4.5 million to federal employees since 1986. There is also the Bill Bransford Helping Hands Fund for employees facing extreme personal emergencies not resulting from a natural disaster. Get more information and an application.

Scholarships

Have a child headed for college? Looking to further your career?

Federal employees with at least three years of service are eligible to apply for scholarships for themselves, their spouses or children. Applications are available from January through March with awards disbursed during the summer.

Each year, hundreds of winners are awarded scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, with top candidates competing for the $5,000 FEEA-NTEU scholarships. These scholarships were first awarded in 2006 with $700,000 in unused administrative funds stemming from an NTEU-won settlement from a special rates case.

One exceptional applicant will be named the Vernon Hunter Scholarship Awardee. This designation honors an IRS manager and Vietnam veteran who was killed in 2010 when a disgruntled taxpayer flew his private plane into the Austin, Texas, IRS offices.

Since 1986, FEEA has offered scholarships to more than 10,000 individuals, including providing nearly 200 scholarships to the children of federal civilian employees who died or were severely injured in the line of duty during the terrorist attacks on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the Pentagon on 9-11, and the US Embassies and Consulates in Kenya, Tanzania and Libya.

Make a Contribution

To be able to provide federal employees emergency assistance and help with college bills, FEEA relies on donations from other federal employees. Please consider donating to FEEA by visiting its website or by making a pledge during the Combined Federal Campaign (FEEA #11185). Every little bit can help another federal employee in need.

Question

I want to have my spouse or children covered by my FEHBP plan after they retire and/or loses current employment health insurance. Can I add spouse to my health insurance post-retirement or must it be done when I retire? Is spouse retirement a qualifying life event or do I have to add my spouse during open season or 5 years prior to my retirement?

You can add your spouse to your FEHBP plan during any open season or when she loses her health insurance. The latter would be a qualifying life event even if you have already retired. Your spouse does not need to be covered for five years prior to your retirement. The only risk in having self only health insurance is that if you were to die before your wife, she would not be able to enroll in FEHBP as a surviving spouse. In retirement, you can use Office of Personnel Management Form 2809 to make changes to your health coverage. Its instructions include a list of qualifying life events.

After retirement, how is business conducted with the Office of Personnel Management?

You’ll be able to access OPM’s Retirement Services Online once you retire from federal employment and begin receiving benefits under CSRS or the Federal Employees Retirement System. You can also call OPM with your retirement questions at 888-767-6738.

Question

What help is there if I have a disability?

CBP at the Privacy Diversity Office under the CBP Directive No. 51713-007A can help you and your supervisor with a Reasonable Accommodation. All you need to do is send an email to your supervisor requesting a Reasonable Accommodation. Please contact an NTEU representative if you have any questions on Reasonable Accommodation's.

Is a Letter of Counseling (LoC) considered arbitrary?

No, a LoC is not considered arbitrary. LoC or even verbal counseling is supposed to be to correct a behavior that could potentially violate the Standards of Conduct and is the lowest form of counseling therefore it is not considered “arbitrary”. Please contact an NTEU representative if you have any questions on LoC and possible implications of getting an LoC. A LoC stays in your supervisors “local” personnel file and is not added to your Official Personnel Folder (OPF).