Tony Reardon, the National President of the National Treasury Employees Union, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to talk about his upcoming retirement. Reardon shared highlights from his time in charge and moments that had a lasting impact on him.
Spending the previous 33 years in the NTEU, with the last eight years serving as National President, Reardon is retiring in August. He has been preparing for retirement but believes he won’t stay far from the work done by NTEU. Reardon says he’ll be the cheerleader on the sidelines, supporting the work done and decisions made by the union.
In his eight years as National President, Reardon handled several outside threats to the NTEU. Thanks to the solidarity and strength shown by the members, each threat was dealt with, and the union was made stronger for it. This strength and solidarity is what Reardon is the most proud of during his time in charge.
Helping to earn federal workers a historic pay raise and paid parental leave were two of the initiatives Reardon fought hardest for during his time in charge. The inter-department relationships he was able to fix helped the 34 agencies that are a part of NTEU operate smoothly. The biggest concern during his time in charge came during the 35-day government shutdown in 2018 that stretched into 2019. Reardon shared his concern for the federal workers who were forced to seek alternate means to afford the basic necessities and reinvigorated his drive to continue fighting for much-needed pay raises.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more.