IFPTE Stands Strong with the Plate Printers Union in Their Fight for a Fair Contract
WASHINGTON, DC – The International Plate Printers, Die Stampers, and Engravers Union of North America has been negotiating a contract with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) for over six years, largely due to BEP management's continued engagement in bad faith bargaining. That bad faith bargaining came to a head this week when the Plate Printers were joined by the Metro Washington Council, AFL-CIO; International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Locals; and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) at a rally in front of the Treasury Department, the cabinet-level agency the BEP falls under, demanding that management bargain in good faith.
The rally was collectively organized by the Plate Printers, IFPTE, and the Metro Washington Council, to bring this injustice to light, and to urge Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to intervene. Specifically, IFPTE President Matt Biggs and Plate Printers Local 2 Vice President Chuck Wheelock called on the Treasury to follow the basic union rights standards and commitment to making the federal government a model employer, as spelled out in the Biden Administration’s Task Force for Worker Organizing and Empowerment report issued two years ago.
“The Bureau of Engraving and Printing has $9 million to pay for union-busting attorneys to sit across from us at the table on the one hand,” Wheelock said. “But, on the other hand, they tell us that they don't have the resources to provide a decent pay increase. It's shameful!"
President Biggs highlighted Treasury’s status as an aberration within the Biden-Harris Administration. “The Department of Treasury’s headquarters is just a stone’s throw from the White House, but when it comes to respecting workers’ rights, they are worlds apart,” Biggs said. “On one side of the fence, President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to creating good jobs and building union power. On the other side of the fence, those values are as hard to come by as a three-dollar bill.”
Also in attendance from IFPTE were several members from the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union NPEU/IFPTE Local 70, Eastern Federal Area VP/IFPTE Local 1921 President Ben Emmel, Legislative Director Faraz Khan, Assistant to the Executive Officers, Brian Kildee, and International Rep., Chris Langford.
After the rally, Wheelock and Biggs attempted to deliver the White House Task Force report to the Treasury, but they were rebuffed by security. They vowed to return soon with a larger crowd and members of Congress to get the Treasury and BEP to change their anti-worker, anti-union practices.
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