 |
Chapter 245 | |
 |
Welcome to the NTEU Chapter 245 web site.
NTEU 245 is the local chapter of the National Treasury Employees Union. We are proud to serve as the exclusive bargaining unit employee representative for the Trademark Attorneys of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
It is our goal to use this web site to help keep bargaining unit members and other visitors to our site informed on a timely basis regarding the latest news and issues affecting the careers and working conditions of the Trademark Attorneys at the USPTO.
These are exciting and dynamic times for the USPTO as an organization and for the individual Trademark Attorneys who we are privileged to represent.
The USPTO was recently designated as a Performance Based Organization. As a result, ever greater effort is being made to provide world-class quality in customer service.
Contracts have been signed for the planned construction of the new PTO campus in Alexandria, Virginia. However, the anticipated move is still some years away.
Meanwhile, trademark application filings continue to increase dramatically as the Office strives with limited resources to hire new examining attorneys in an effort to keep pace.
With the examining corps now numbering over 300 attorneys, adequate office space and working condition quality in the existing PTO buildings have become increasingly difficult to maintain.
All of these forces combine to present unique challenges for employees and management alike.
To address these challenges, many proposals for change will be put on the table for consideration by NTEU 245 and PTO management.
For example, we can expect changes to be proposed for the terms of our employment contract and the performance plans under which examining attorneys are rated.
With so many potential changes in the offing and with our chapter growing ever larger, it becomes increasingly important to keep our members informed.
I look forward to this web site serving as an instrumental tool enabling NTEU 245 to achieve that goal.
Again, I welcome all visitors to our web site.
Please visit us often as we continue to grow.
Howard Friedman
President, NTEU 245