Posted on 06/13/2019 2:18:42 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
Members of the American Federation of Government Employees turned their backs on Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Thursday, apparently over plans to relocate them from Washington to the Kansas City area.
Perdue announced Thursday that two of the Department of Agriculture’s research agencies, the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, will be relocated to be closer to major farming regions.
While Perdue has justified the relocation as a way to improve customer service and save taxpayers up to $20 million per year, some ERS employees have said it is a political move, according to the publication.
Specifically, some ERS staff have expressed suspicions the relocation is an attempt to shrink the agency and weaken its ability to conduct research that does not align with the Trump administration’s policy agenda.
The department retreated on another proposal to shift ERS within the department’s organizational structure to place it under the Office of the Chief Economist.
"While we believe there is considerable synergies and benefits to a realignment, after hearing feedback from stakeholders and members of Congress, USDA will not move forward with the realignment plans," the department said.
Employees at both agencies voted to unionize after the relocation was announced, according to Politico. They are expected to receive relocation letters Thursday and will be given 30 days to make a decision, according to the American Federation of Government Employees.
Union reps said employees were not given advance notice of the announcement and that they learned of the site selection via media reports despite Perdue’s assurances he would provide notice.
The relocation has divided Congress along partisan lines as well, with the four Republicans who represent Kansas and Missouri in the Senate issuing a joint statement praising the move.
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) and Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), who hold key positions on House subcommittees with jurisdiction over the agencies, have said the process has lacked transparency, according to Politico.
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), who has co-sponsored legislation to halt the relocation, said a USDA inspector general review “examining the viability of this relocation is not complete."
Some over-fed parasites right there.
To do what?
I would put up a “temporary” office for them in Death Valley.
yep the ones facing left are Demonuts
“...ALL of our “agencies” OUT of D.C.!”
Agreed. I been saying that for years.
We send billions in taxes to D.C.
They divvy it up & send it back to the state agencies.
All the bean-counting & divvying on the way up there & back eats up billions.
Don’t mess with Bureaucrat Gang.
They probably think they will have to go to sleep every night to the sound of cattle mooing.
They don't realize it's still a major metro area and if they keep the same pay they will live much better.
“It would sure make the downsizing decision easier, if nothing else.”
Attrition at its best.
Fire their asses. The people who turned their backs, are the same ones who rip the taxpayer off every work day. Most of them are slovenly, which tells me their work habits are probably slovenly too. Their positions need to be reevaluated to determine their productivity. Those whose job duties are determined to be irrelevant, should be let go. It’s called down-sizing. All government agencies do it from time to time.
1) What do you suppose is the combined cost of all of their salary and fringe benefits to us, who pay them? (What about average cost?)
2) Don’t you think they should be happy, since they’ll get HUGE moving benefits, and the cost of living has to be much lower in the KC area?
“...or Knoxville”
NO! Not here! NIMBY, Baby.
I'm glad to see that someone is finally doing it.
-PJ
Well-fed crowd.
Bunch of leftist assholes.
Just tell ‘em see ya at or new location, or not. Your choice.
Personally I would do all I could to fire their sorry asses. You and I all know they are going to be going into sabotage mode.
Have you ever seen so many self-important drama queens in one room?
I wonder who took the picture.
The jack wagons .
They think we tax payers owe them a job wherever they want to live.
Just fire them all
This is the easiest way to get rid of unneeded government slobs. Move the office to some barren wasteland and many will quit.
Also, many of these government slobs are married and their spouse also works for the government. So they will be forced to stay in DC or move.
Actually, they should be more concerned about alignment with the Constitution.
Power or control over agriculture not being one of the enumerated powers of congress or any other branch of the central government and not a power delegated to the United States by the Constitution is therefor reserved to the states or the people by the tenth amendment:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
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