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Claiming Trump Has 'Declared War,' Feds Rally to Fight Back Against Executive Orders
Claiming Trump Has ‘Declared War,’ Feds Rally to Fight Back Against Executive Orders
https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2018/07/claiming-trump-has-declared-war-feds-rally-fight-back-against-executive-orders/150038/?oref=river
By Eric Katz July 25, 2018
Hundreds of government employees gathered outside a courthouse in downtown Washington on Wednesday to protest President Trump's executive orders that changed the rules governing the federal workforce, calling the measures an assault on the civil service and a threat to democracy.
Workers, union representatives and lawmakers rallied behind the cry of Red for Feds, with protesters draped in the color to show their collective support. A federal judge on Wednesday was set to hold the first hearing in a consolidated lawsuit brought by more than a dozen labor groups representing federal employees, challenging the constitutionality of three executive orders Trump signed in May. The orders seek to streamline the firing process, exempt adverse personnel actions from grievance procedures, speed up collective bargaining negotiations and severely limit union employees’ ability to conduct representational activities while on the clock in their federal jobs.
Speakers at the rally said the pending fight against the Trump administration was an existential one for the federal civil service and their unions, but expressed optimism their side would prevail.
“Right there in that courthouse it will be decided if we will be going on,” American Federation of Government Employees president J. David Cox said at the rally, held in the shadow of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where Wednesday’s hearing was being held. “I don’t know about you, but I plan on kicking ass and taking names.”
Employees from agencies across government gathered at the event, holding signs that read “EO hell NO” and “These executive orders are illegal!” The crowd chanted “red for feds,” “we fight for workers rights,” “vote them out” and even “lock them up.” An array of Democratic lawmakers spoke at the rally, including leadership in both the House and Senate.
“The hard right has tried to make you the scapegoat,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “They have tried to say you don’t work hard enough . . . they have tried to say you get paid too much.”............................
Federal workers protest President Trump's executive orders curbing civil service protections in Washington prior to a federal court hearing that will consider the scope of the administration's authority. Federal workers protest President Trump's executive orders curbing civil service protections in Washington prior to a federal court hearing that will consider the scope of the administration's authority. Eric Katz/GovExec
Veterans, VA employees rally against Trump’s workforce orders
Federal workers rally in support of the American Federation of Government Employees on July 25, 2018 in Washington, D.C.
CAROLINE HURLEY/STARS AND STRIPES
By NIKKI WENTLING | STARS AND STRIPES Published: July 25, 2018
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of federal employees, including some workers from the Department of Veterans Affairs, rallied Wednesday at about the same time a court case began to fight anti-union executive orders signed by President Donald Trump in May.
The executive orders, which went into effect this month, limit union employees’ ability to use official time, shorten collective bargaining negotiations and encourage agencies to fire employees, instead of merely disciplining them. The American Federation of Government Employees and other federal unions argue the orders are unconstitutional..................................
Education Dept. Illegally Curbed Workers’ Union Protections, Mediators Suggest
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has been the most aggressive of cabinet secretaries in following an executive order issued by President Trump that required cabinet heads to shrink the federal footprint.CreditTom Brenner/The New York Times
By Erica L. Green
July 24, 2018
WASHINGTON — Federal labor mediators have advised the Education Department that it most likely imposed new work rules on its employees illegally, curtailing workers’ protections and access to union representation in violation of federal law.
The American Federation of Government Employees said Tuesday that the Federal Labor Relations Authority advised the Education Department that it had engaged in “bad-faith bargaining” when it implemented a contract this year that gutted compensation and benefits provisions for the department’s 3,900 employees, and limited employees’ ability to carry out union duties during the work day.
The decision could have broad implications because the Education Department’s actions mirror Trump administration efforts throughout the federal government. The Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs have begun implementing work rules similar to the ones at the Education Department, union officials said. And many of the anti-union elements reflect a series of executive orders on the federal work force that President Trump signed in May.
The union plans to use the finding as it pursues labor disputes across the federal government.
“For the first salvo to be knocked down by the F.L.R.A., it sends the message that the government isn’t going to be allowed to operate outside the bounds of the law,” said David A. Borer, general counsel for the union.
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And our country voted for this! We didn't have to be invaded by a foreign army, we've been voting "free market" right wing I-got-mine-fuck-you nutjobs into office for 30+ years.
And where's the media on that fucking lie—the free market. It's not a free market. We have privatized profits & socialized risk. I'm not saying an industry should never be bailed out, but don't chortle about the fucking free market & hate on the human "takers" of society while not recognizing the corporate ones, & how much more they gorge at the trough.
