President Trump executive orders are threat to democracy, union says

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) ^ | May 25, 2018 | AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr

[mdittmar]

White House directives aim to strip federal workers of right to representation

WASHINGTON – President Trump is attempting to silence the voice of veterans, law enforcement officers, and other frontline federal workers through a series of executive orders intended to strip federal employees of their decades-old right to representation at the worksite, the American Federation of Government Employees said today.

“This is more than union busting – it’s democracy busting,” AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said. “These executive orders are a direct assault on the legal rights and protections that Congress has specifically guaranteed to the 2 million public-sector employees across the country who work for the federal government.”

“Our government is built on a system of checks and balances to prevent any one person from having too much influence. President Trump’s executive orders will undo all of that. This administration seems hellbent on replacing a civil service that works for all taxpayers with a political service that serves at its whim.”

“Federal employees swear an oath to serve this country. The American people rightly expect that federal employees go to work every day and do the jobs they were hired to do – whether it’s ensuring our food is safe to eat, caring for veterans who were injured while serving their country, preventing illegal weapons and drugs from crossing our borders, or helping communities recover from hurricanes and other disasters.”

“President Trump’s executive orders do nothing to help federal workers do their jobs better. In fact, they do the opposite by depriving workers of their rights to address and resolve workplace issues such as sexual harassment, racial discrimination, retaliation against whistleblowers, improving workplace health and safety, enforcing reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities, and so much more.”

“These executive orders strip agencies of their right to bargain terms and conditions of employment and replace it with a politically charged scheme to fire employees without due process,” Cox said.

AFGE representatives have used official time in myriad ways that benefit taxpayers, including to:

• Blow the whistle on management’s attempt to cover up an outbreak of Legionnaires disease that killed and sickened veterans in Pittsburgh;
• Address an incident in which a noose was placed on the chair of an African-American worker at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia;
• Mitigate the impact of Army downsizing on employees and their families;
• Expedite the processing of benefits to veterans and their survivors; and
• Successfully negotiate equipping federal correctional officers with pepper spray to keep them safe on the job.

“All federal employees, whether they belong to a union or not, are guaranteed the right to fair representation. Employees who volunteer to serve as union representatives use official time to carry out those representational activities,” Cox said.

“It’s a policy that has saved taxpayers in the long run because it helps resolve isolated conflicts that arise in the workplace before they become costly, agency-wide problems. And contrary to some reports, official time is never used to conduct union-specific business, solicit members, hold internal union meetings, elect union officers, or engage in partisan political activities.”

“By preventing problem solving, these executive orders will create inefficiencies and hinder the ability of dedicated federal employees to effectively deliver services to the American public.”

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[upchuck]

Thank you God for President Trump. Keep him and those around him safe.

It is way past time for this ‘public employee unionism’ to be stopped. It pisses me off to no end to think my tax dollars are being used to subsidize these layabouts.

[MortMan]

The unions negotiate with politicians, but taxpayers foot the bill. That is the reason the system fails as is.

[rlmorel]

Heh, coming from scum like the AFGE this is somewhat of a compliment.

[SERKIT]

Unions can be a threat to Constitutional Republics.

[beethovenfan]

The pigs feeding at the government trough are squealing.

[mountainlion]

What part of the Constitution gives unions right to rule over us?

[ronnie raygun]

And Obama’s weren’t? f the traitors

[Retired Chemist]

I think it’s about time after reading horror stories about how hard it is to fire government employees.

[realcleanguy]

Did that say that over Obama’s signing orders? LOL

[plain talk]

Trump’s EO did not prevent anyone from joining a union. Therefore the union’s premise is bogus.

[Ouderkirk]

uhhhh....the so-called “RIGHT” to organize was granted by executive order by JFK. It is not enshrined in law and can be easily removed by another executive order.

[faithhopecharity]

can we just get our DNC/RINO congress to repeal the law permitting unions in federal agencies? that’s the solution

[Safetgiver]

“Federal employees swear an oath to serve this country.....Then get off your ass and go to it.

[G Larry]

Uh...No...

Government Employee Unions are a “threat to democracy”!

Even FDR agreed.

[_longranger81]

A union is nothing more than a monopoly, or a trust, on a commodity, specifically labor. If one organization gained control over all of a component of an industry, say, aluminum, and forced people to pay their price for aluminum or have no aluminum at all, the government would be expected to break that monopoly and restore the normal balances of free trade. They have become simple thugs. And the government must stop abetting them.

[Secret Agent Man]

Now libtards hate EOs. After a socialist foreigner used them exclusively the prior 8 years.

[Lurkinanloomin]

Public-sector unions are a threat to the Republic.

[AndyJackson]

This administration seems hellbent on replacing a civil service that works for all taxpayers with a political service that serves at its whim.

I think you are projecting, and I think what people want are political leaders who are responsive to the taxpayers and a civil service subordinated to serving the taxpayers according to the directions established by the duly elected political leadership.

[chief lee runamok]

Union leaders are well compensated basically for kicking back, watching the millions of dollars flow in.
The afl-cio multi floor building in wash dc takes a city block.

[AndyJackson]

Now, to be complete and accurate, we have two self-serving groups of federal employees - the unionized workers as discussed here and the union of senior managers also known as the infamous Senior Executive Service - who are happy to abuse workers at all levels to execute their personal agendas - which is also generally contrary to the taxpayer's interest as well. In fact it's worse. The unions are mostly concerned about hours, wages and expected productivity. The SES actively seeks to undermine or overthrow undesireable policies while imposing their own desired policies - the elected political leadership willy-nilly.

In fairness to the unions they are the product of inept, unpatriotic and corrupt senior management.