[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 21, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S8902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNITION OF ROBERT TOBIAS

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Robert Tobias 
for his distinguished service at the National Treasury Employees Union, 
including four terms as its president.
  Admired by his friends and adversaries alike, Bob Tobias has garnered 
respect as an effective advocate and constructive mediator during his 
tenure at the NTEU.
  Bob and his wife Susan reside in Bethesda, MD, and we are very proud 
to have them as residents of our State. However, Bob is a native of 
Michigan and received a bachelor's degree, as well as a master's 
degree, in business administration from the University of Michigan. Bob 
completed his education at George Washington University, where he 
received a law degree. He built upon his formal education with 
substantial legal experience as a labor relations specialist for 
General Motors Corporation in Detroit and with the Internal Revenue 
Service.
  When Bob first joined the NTEU in 1968, he became its second staff 
employee. During his 31-year tenure at NTEU, Bob served the 
organization in numerous capacities and saw the staff grow to more than 
100 members with seven field offices across the country. Now 
representing more than 150,000 Federal employees at the Internal 
Revenue Service, Customs Service, and other agencies, NTEU is a strong 
voice for public servants on Capitol Hill and with the other branches 
of Government.
  Starting at NTEU as a staff attorney, Bob later served as general 
counsel and executive vice president, supervising a staff of 45 
attorneys and field representatives nationwide, as well as the 
litigation and negotiations staff in the NTEU training program. His 
dedicated and skillful performance in these positions led to his 
election as President of NTEU in 1983 and his subsequent reelection on 
three occasions.
  Under Bob's guidance, NTEU has been an influential voice for Federal 
employees and has waged many successful battles on their behalf. From 
challenging the line-item veto, to securing the right to picket for 
Federal employees, to obtaining the payment of over a half billion 
dollars in back pay from the Nixon administration, Bob Tobias has 
achieved wide-ranging victories for our public servants.
  In addition to his talent for successful litigation, Bob Tobias has 
worked with the Government and its agencies to improve the status of 
Federal employees and to enhance their ability to serve the public. For 
example, he is credited with wide-ranging IRS reforms, rendering the 
tax-collecting organization a more efficient and responsive public 
agency. He is credited with instituting the first negotiated alternate 
work schedule for employees and the first cooperative labor management 
program for onsite child care.
  Because of his extensive interaction with the agencies that employ 
Federal workers, Bob is highly regarded as an expert on how to improve 
Government. Many different organizations have sought out his expertise 
on these matters and, among others, Bob is now a member of the 
President's National Partnership Council, the Federal Advisory 
Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, the Executive Committee of 
the Internal Revenue Service, and the American Arbitration Association.
  Because of his dedicated leadership on behalf of our Federal workers, 
his consensus-building approach to Government reform, and the highly 
professional manner in which he carried out his work, Bob Tobias leaves 
a powerful and enduring legacy as President of the NTEU. I am pleased 
that he will continue in the public realm since he is planning a career 
in public policy teaching and writing.
  Again, I congratulate Bob Tobias on his outstanding service at NTEU 
and his terrific record as a public servant on behalf of the American 
people, and I wish him all the best in the years ahead.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. DURBIN addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois is recognized.

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