We are the Forest Service Council of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-FSC). We are more than 20,000 Forest Service strong all across the country in 133 different organizational units standing and working together for a better workplace and a better agency for the American People. NFFE-FSC is a federal labor union authorized under Title 5, Chapter 71 of the United States Code. We are a part of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), and in 1999 NFFE affiliated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers .
NFFE was officially created at a labor convention in Washington, D.C. on September 17, 1917. NFFE is the first union in the United States to represent civil service federal employees (postal workers unions have been around longer). Today, NFFE is affiliated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), and with them, represents 110,000 federal workers.
At its founding, NFFE was unique in its inclusion of women, electing Florence Etheridge to the first national council, making her one of the few women with leadership positions in labor at the time. In 1963, NFFE was a strong proponent of the Equal Pay Act , which mandated pay equity between men and women in the workplace.