The Union has submitted a bargaining demand (including a cease and desist) and information request in response to last night’s HRIC threatening massive reorganization, elimination of offices and positions, and reduction-in-force (RIFs). The Agency is offering several things in advance of any such actions, including voluntary early retirement (VERA), voluntary reassignment to mission critical positions, and voluntary separation incentive payments (VSIP). The HRIC email raises more questions than it answers, such as what offices/positions/functions are considered mandated by statute or mission critical, and which are not? What happens if there is a lapse in appropriations after March 14, 2025, which is also the deadline for employees to make decisions? We are working to get these answers and more ASAP so employees can make the most informed decisions possible.
In the meantime, employees should remember that the deadline is 3/14/2025, so there is not an immediate need to rush to make any decisions today, tomorrow, or next week. Employees should closely review the links provided in the emails regarding the eligibility and potential payback requirements of the options. For example, employees taking the VSIP would face repayment obligations and restrictions on federal hiring for five years:
An employee who receives a VSIP and later accepts employment for compensation with the Government of the United States within 5 years of the date of the separation on which the VSIP is based, including work under a personal services contract or other direct contract, must repay the entire amount of the VSIP to the agency that paid it – before the individual’s first day of reemployment.
Additionally, employees should use the GRB platform, linked in the HRIC, to review their retirement options, as well as their potential severance pay that they could possibly receive in the event of a RIF. You can find the severance pay calculator at the bottom of the retirement estimate page. Severance pay could be as high as a full year’s salary, depending on length of service, pay rate, and other factors as set by statute. Of course, none of this should be considered financial guidance, and we strongly encourage that you consult financial/retirement advisors for assistance as necessary before making decisions.
We continue to face uncertain, stressful times. AFGE is resolute in defending our workforce, our offices, and our ability to carry out our mission to serve the public. More soon.
The Union has become aware that the Agency’s Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity (OCREO) is being disbanded and its staff being placed on administrative leave.
We do not yet know which component(s) or office(s) will assume OCREO’s statutory responsibilities, whether there are bargaining unit employees in OCREO impacted, and other questions. We have demanded formal notice with specific information on all aspects of the dissolution process.
Once received (or if not received), the Union consider its course of action to ensure that the statutory and contractual rights of AFGE bargaining unit employees are respected and upheld. This is a deeply alarming situation, to say the least, and will be addressed promptly and seriously.
Sen. Joni Ernst, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and other politicians have continued to make incorrect statements about the federal workforce. Their statements have eroded their own credibility and are just an attempt at tarnishing the reputations of civil servants to make it easier to fire them and contract out their jobs to for-profit corporations.
We believe that facts matter, and AFGE will continue to debunk these misconceptions as they come in.
Myth:
The federal government is too centralized in the Washington area, and relocating agencies around the country will make it more effective.
Fact:
Just 15% of our nation’s 2 million federal workers live in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The remaining 85% already live across the country, in all 50 states, in big cities and rural areas, on military installations and in our communities, and everywhere in-between.
Myth:
The bloated federal workforce is at an all-time high.
Fact:
Over the past 50 years, the number of federal workers has grown by roughly 6%. At the same time, the U.S. population has increased by 57%. The ratio of federal workers to national population has steadily decreased for the more than a half-century at this point. In 2024, the total federal workforce compensation of $293 billion amounted to just 4.3% of the federal budget. Meanwhile, federal contractors accounted for $759.2 billion, or 11.4%. If federal workers were paid equally to private sector workers, their pay would make up a 10% share of the budget.
Myth:
Federal workers are overpaid.
Fact:
Federal workers earn nearly 25% less than private sector and state and local workers who perform similar jobs.
Myth:
Federal workers don’t seem to understand or care who they work for.
Fact:
About 642,000 federal workers are veterans of the U.S. military. More than half (58%) of all federal workers hold jobs that directly support our troops (Army, Navy, Air Force, DoD), our veterans (VA), or our seniors (SSA, CMS). Federal workers know better than anyone who they work for – the American people – because they devote every single day to delivering vital public services that hundreds of millions of American rely on. They do not cater to any corporate contractor’s bottom line; they serve only their fellow American citizens.
Federal workers perform essential work on behalf of everyone who calls this nation home. They’re the doctors and nurses who care for our veterans, the people who get Social Security benefits out on time, the corrections officers in federal prisons who protect us from dangerous criminals, the USDA inspectors who make sure our food supply is safe, the FEMA specialists who assist disaster survivors, the TSA screeners who protect the flying public, the border patrol agents who stop drug smugglers and human traffickers, and so much more.
Myth:
We only have 6% of our federal workforce actually going into work every single day.
Fact:
54% of federal workers hold jobs that require them to report in-person to their duty station every day… Among those whose jobs permit telework, 61.2% of working hours are spent in-person.
Myth:
Americans are being put on hold by bureaucrats who are phoning it in.
Fact:
Mischaracterizing telework as failing to show up for work is a deliberate attempt to demean and disparage federal workers and ultimately eliminate and/or outsource their jobs. Both private and public sector employers have found that hybrid telework arrangements improves employee engagement, recruitment and retention. Hybrid work arrangements actually reduce wait times and allow better service for citizens.
Myth:
Federal workers are low-skill workers who would be unqualified for private sector employment.
Fact:
Federal workers are both highly skilled and highly qualified. 66% of the federal workforce has a bachelor’s degree, compared to 43% of private sector workers, while 33% of federal workers have an advanced degree, compared to just 15% of private sector workers.
Myth:
98% federal bureaucrats are enrolled in a taxpayer-funded pension (compared to just 15% of private sector employees with access to a defined benefit pension plan). That locks federal employees into government employment & comes with a massive cost: nearly $1.2 trillion in unfunded liabilities for the main federal pension system. The cost of pensions is a key reason why most employers have moved away from them.
Fact:
While federal pay continues to lag far behind private sector pay, the average yearly pension for Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) retirees is just $25,000. As it stands, those benefits are no match for rising costs and exorbitant health care expenses that many seniors face. Yet, even as President-elect Trump, Elon Musk, and Ramaswamy plan to extend tax cuts and handouts to the wealthy, they are plotting to cut the key retirement benefits that federal workers have earned.
Excused absence for time to vote is covered under our National Agreement between AFGE and SSA. Article 31, Section 3 states:
“The Employer will excuse employees for a reasonable time, without seriously interfering with operations, to vote or register in any election or referendum on a civic matter in his/her community. An employee will be excused from duty so as to permit him/her to report for work 3 hours before the polls open or to leave work 3 hours before the polls close, whichever amounts in the lesser amount of time. Under unusual circumstances, an employee can be excused up to the full day. The Employer will notify employees annually of this right at the beginning of each fiscal year and shall encourage employees to avail themselves of the right to register and vote.”
The amount of time you get is based on the time your arrive at work.
If your tour is 8:00-4:30 you would have 2 hours to vote from (6 a.m. – 8 a.m.) and 2 ½ hours from
(4:30 – 7:00), employee could be excused for 30 minutes at the end of the day for the purpose of voting.
If your tour is 9:00-5:30, since the polls were open 3 hours before the beginning of workday, no absence for voting should be granted.
If you work a compressed work schedule (5-4-9), with a tour from 7:30-5:00. You have 1-½ hours from (6 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.), and 2 hours from (5:00 – 7:00 p.m.). The employee could be excused for one hour for the purpose of voting.
This Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) is entered into by and between the American Federation of Government Employees General Committee (“AFGE” or “Union”) and the Social Security Administration (“SSA”; “Agency”; or “Management”), collectively (“Parties”), sets forth procedures for the Parties in the event of a government shutdown (“Shutdown”).
The parties acknowledge the role of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in agency decisions regarding government shutdowns which may have implications under the Anti-Deficiency Act. Due to the unique circumstances presented in conducting excepted Agency operations during a Shutdown, the Parties will each take into consideration Office of Personnel Management’s (“OPM”) published Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs.
Provisions of this MOU do not reflect an agreement by AFGE to furloughs. This agreement does not waive or limit any statutory, regulatory, or contractual rights of individual employees. The Parties acknowledge that some contractual provisions involving expenditure of funds may be temporarily impacted by the Anti-Deficiency Act pursuant to Article 1, Section 1 of the National Agreement between AFGE and SSA. Otherwise, the parties will presume that contractual provisions not impacted by the Anti-Deficiency Act remain in full force and effect during a lapse in appropriations.To the extent permitted by the Anti-Deficiency Act, as part of the dialogue between OLMER and the AFGE General Committee, either party may bring up issues that arise because of the shutdown that are in conflict with the National Agreement, law, or this MOU. OLMER will engage with AFGE to discuss/resolve the issues.
The Agency will establish and maintain a toll-free number and internet website with 24-hour availability that employees can access to receive information on the shutdown furlough. The Agency will inform employees regarding the existence of the website and the toll-free number. The website will contain information for employees regarding the impact of the furlough on employee pay, leave, and benefits. This will also include a link to contact information for the unemployment compensation office in each state as well as links to the Anti-Deficiency Act and the Agency’s contingency plan.
2. During a government shutdown, management will provide furloughed employees with all information to which they are entitled by law in any furlough decision notice and will make reasonable efforts to do so in advance. The notice will direct employees to the Agency website address for information on the impact of the furlough upon employee leave and benefits. A sample of the decision notice will be posted on the agency website.
3. (A) Employees are expected to monitor the Mass Emergency Notification System (MENS) notifications,Agency’s toll-free number, and website to learn when the Shutdown ends and when to return to duty. Management will be liberal when considering requests for leave on the day the employees are expected to return to duty.
(B) Additionally, during a Shutdown, furloughed employees may be contacted by their supervisor if required to convert to an excepted duty status as specified in their decision notices. Supervisors will make reasonable efforts to contact employees during regular business hours using the emergency contact information provided by the employee, including through MENS. It is the employee’s responsibility to update their emergency contact information, and prior to a shutdown management will verify this information. Employees converting from furlough to excepted status will report to duty the following business day. Management will be liberal when considering requests for intermittent furlough on the day the employees are expected to report to duty.
Management will make reasonable efforts to ensure that a minimum of two hours of excepted work is available before requiring employees to report for duty.
4. If insufficient pay is available to make all deductions from an employee’s gross pay, the agency will comply with the sequence of deductions specified in the July 30, 2008, Office of Personnel Management Memorandum titled “Order of Precedence When Gross Pay is Not Sufficient to Permit All Deductions.”
5. To ensure the Agency’s contingency plan is current for OMB, AFGE will submit input regarding the Agency’s contingency plan by the end of July each year. The Agency will consider any input offered by AFGE regarding the contingency plan. Once the Agency Shutdown contingency plan and any revisions are approved by OMB, the Agency will provide a copy to the Union.
6. The Agency will meet as soon as possible with representatives of the AFGE General Committee after the end of a government Shutdown to provide a briefing on the Agency’s plan to pay any authorized retroactive salary and benefits to bargaining unit employees who have not received their full compensation.
7. Unless authorized by law, employees are prohibited from providing voluntary services to the Agency during a furlough.
8. The Agency will continue to provide the full Agency contribution to health benefits under the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program for employees affected by a furlough consistent with Statute and Government-wide regulations.
9. The Parties acknowledge that the amount of income taxes withheld from employees’ biweekly earnings will be adjusted to reflect the reduction in earnings that results from the furlough. Where employees request changes to withholdings/deductions, the employer will make reasonable efforts to process such changes in an expeditious manner.
10. Subject to the limitations of the Anti-Deficiency Act, certain limited categories of official time may be permissible during a government Shutdown. The Agency has determined that official time may be permitted when triggered by certain approved agency actions identified as excepted under the Agency’s Shutdown Contingency Plan. Situations that may trigger representational duties, and the use of official time, during a Shutdown include but are not limited to the following:
Formal Discussions with Employees;
Weingarten Interviews;
Disciplinary or performance-based actions taken during the Shutdown period, associated with excepted activities; and
Bargaining obligations triggered by notice of management-initiated changes during the Shutdown to the extent required by 5 USC 71.
To the extent permitted under the Anti-Deficiency Act, the Agency will continue to maintain the OUTTS official time electronic recording system throughout any lapse in appropriations. Union representatives may submit requests to work official time in connection with any of the above listed activities through OUTTS. If OUTTS is not available, union representatives may use alternative methodsfor requesting official time until OUTTS is restored.
11. The Agency is committed to make and communicate all official time decisions in an expeditious manner.
12. Union representatives who were authorized to use hours of official time per Article 30, Section 5.C. as of the last workday prior to a Shutdown and who occupy an excepted Agency position may request to be furloughed intermittently during the shutdown to engage in voluntary Union activities. The amount of time requested for both official time (under provision number 10 of this agreement) and intermittent furlough should be consistent with the previously established schedule of official time used to accommodate both Union representational activities and Agency assigned duties per Article 30, Section 5 Such requests will be referred to the appropriate management official and will normally be approved. This does not preclude Union representatives from requesting intermittent furlough time pursuant to provision number 10of this agreement.
13. The Parties acknowledge that during a period of government Shutdown, excepted employees who are required to work shall be entitled to use leave, for which compensation for used leave shall be paid at the earliest date possible after the shutdown ends. Leave requests will be handled in accordance with Article 31, including leave requests approved in advance of a shutdown.
14. Employees required to be absent from excepted duties subject to the provisions of A31, Section 9 (Court Leave) will be placed in intermittent furlough status.
15. The Decision to Effect Furlough form shall be used to record periods of intermittent furlough.
16. In accordance with Article 41, employees at the time of the shutdown who are currently working under an approved Telework agreement and who are excepted from the furlough will be allowed to continue to Telework based on availability of portable excepted work.
17. A personalized creditor letter will be issued to each employee. This letter will be signed by the Commissioner of Social Security or designee and will provide contact information should a creditor wish to contact the supervisor for further information. The designee will not be the first-line supervisor.
18. Subject to the request and approval procedures in Article 10 of the National Agreement, excepted employees may earn credit hours when working on excepted activities. The Parties recognize that employees may not use credit hours until after the Shutdown is over. The Agency website will contain information regarding the impact of a government Shutdown on the employees’ inability to carry over more than twenty-four (24) credit hours.
19. If an employee has exceeded the twenty-four (24) hours credit hour accrual limit and is unable to use the excess hours due to a government Shutdown, the Parties will engage in discussions (at the conclusion of the Shutdown) to explore alternatives, so that employees are not adversely affected, prior to the Union exercising its rights under Article 24.
20. If management determines that a limited number of employees are required to perform a specific excepted activity in the employees’ duty station, management will determine the excepted employees by the earliest SCD of those qualified to perform the excepted activities.
21. The Agency will make reasonable efforts to approve or deny, in writing, employees’ requests for outside employment within three (3) workdays.
22. During a furlough, Union officials will have normal access to the space provided to the Union pursuant to Article 11 of the National Agreement.
23. Provided the requirements for retirement are met, a furlough will not impact the effective date of any employee’s voluntary or early out retirement.
24. It is understood that a furlough is a factor beyond the employee’s control for purposes of applying Article 21, Section 6.I.1 of the National Agreement.
25. All filing and processing deadlines contained in collective bargaining agreements will be extended by the number of days that the Agency is shut down. These extensions apply to all deadlines for bargaining unit employees, Unions, and Agency management officials. Additionally, the parties agree that any arbitration dates that fall during the period of the Shutdown may be postponed consistent with Article 25.
26. As soon as possible, the Agency will provide AFGE with a list of the excepted positions.
27. In the event of furlough, the Agency will make reasonable efforts to provide employees with access to their duty station during duty hours to secure their personal belongings.
28. If management conducts formal discussions with employees regarding Shutdown furloughs, the appropriate Union representative for each facility will be afforded notice and opportunity to attend such formal discussions.
29. Employees on LWOP will be issued a notice by management of the effect of Shutdown periods.
Heads up federal employee friends, Congress is trying to pass another BS law designed to hurt us. Its called the MERIT ACT, short for Modern Employment Reform Improvement, and Transformation Act. Call your reps today 866-356-0201 to tell your Member of Congress that this is unfair and unproductive, and to oppose the MERIT Act.
Under the MERIT Act:
You would no longer be able to appeal adverse actions and unfair reductions in force actions through the grievance procedures. The only venue for you to appeal these unfair actions would be the severely under-resourced Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which reviews similar cases for the entire federal workforce of 2 million employees. The agency’s decision becomes final if the MSPB does not issue a decision within 30 days.
You will not have enough time to mount a credible defense if you are accused of performance or disciplinary issues, because the bill drastically shortens the response time.
You can be fired at any point in your first two years on the job, for any reason.
You may be forced to repay a bonus or award if the agency head claims he or she was unaware of a conduct or performance issues when you received the payment.
To stay involved and updated on what AFGE is doing to protect your rights, text AFGE to 225568 from your personal phone (never your government phone) to subscribe to text updates.
WASHINGTON – In a landmark decision, a federal judge has ruled that President Trump violated the U.S. Constitution and laws providing checks and balances in the federal government by attempting to deny more than 2 million federal workers their legal right to representation.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled late last night that the Trump administration’s May 25executive order on official time violated the 1stAmendment to the U.S. Constitution and the separation of powers as established in law.
The American Federation of Government Employees, which was the first union to challenge President Trump’s executive orders in court, applauded the judge’s ruling.
“President Trump’s illegal action was a direct assault on the legal rights and protections that Congress specifically guaranteed to the public-sector employees across this country who keep our federal government running every single day,” AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said.
“We are heartened by the judge’s ruling and by the huge outpouring of support shown to federal workers by lawmakers from both parties, fellow union workers, and compassionate citizens across the country,” Cox said. “Our members go to work every single day to serve the American people, and they deserve all the rights and protections afforded to them by our founding fathers.”
AFGE, the largest union representing federal government employees, filed two lawsuits challenging President Trump’s executive orders. The first lawsuit challenged the executive order on official time as a violation of the right to freedom of association guaranteed by the First Amendment, and as exceeding the president’s authority. The second lawsuit charged that the remaining two orders exceed the president’s authority under the U.S. Constitution by violating the separation of powers and exceeding current law.
The impact of these executive orders began being felt months before they were even issued, as the Department of Education in March threw out the contract covering 3,900 federal employees represented by AFGE and implemented its own illegal management edict that strips workers of their union rights, a precursor to what was to come weeks later when President Trump issued the three union-busting, anti-federal worker executive orders. Since the executive orders were signed May 25, other agencies including the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs have issued similar edicts in an attempt to eradicate unions from the federal workplace and deny workers their legal right to representation.
“Now that the judge has issued her decision, I urge all agencies that have attempted to enforce this illegal executive order to restore all previously negotiated contracts and to bargain in good faith with employee representatives on any future changes as required under the law,” Cox said.
AFGE LOCAL 1395 is located at:
600 W. Madison – 6th Fl
Chicago IL 60661
Agatha Joseph 312-575-5612—President
Cheryl Bellamy-Bonner 312-575-5614 – Exec. Vice President
In a landmark decision, a federal judge has ruled that President Trump violated the U.S. Constitution and laws providing checks and balances in the federal government by attempting to deny more than 2 million federal workers their legal right to representation.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled late Friday that the Trump administration’s May 25 executive order on official time violated the U.S. Constitution and the separation of powers as established in law.
AFGE, which was the first union to challenge President Trump’s executive orders in court, applauded the judge’s ruling.
“President Trump’s illegal action was a direct assault on the legal rights and protections that Congress specifically guaranteed to the public-sector employees across this country who keep our federal government running every single day,” AFGE President J. David Cox Sr. said.
“We are heartened by the judge’s ruling and by the huge outpouring of support shown to federal workers by lawmakers from both parties, fellow union workers, and compassionate citizens across the country,” Cox added. “Our members go to work every single day to serve the American people, and they deserve all the rights and protections afforded to them by our founding fathers.”
The lawsuits
AFGE, the largest union representing federal government employees, filed two lawsuits challenging President Trump’s executive orders.
The first lawsuit challenged the executive order on official time as a violation of the right to freedom of association guaranteed by the First Amendment, and as exceeding the president’s authority. The second lawsuit charged that the remaining two orders exceed the president’s authority under the U.S. Constitution by violating the separation of powers and exceeding current law.
The impact of these executive orders began being felt months before they were even issued, as the Department of Education in March threw out the contract covering 3,900 federal employees represented by AFGE and implemented its own illegal management edict that strips workers of their union rights, a precursor to what was to come weeks later when President Trump issued the three union-busting, anti-federal worker executive orders.
Since the executive orders were signed May 25, other agencies including the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs have issued similar edicts in an attempt to eradicate unions from the federal workplace and deny workers their legal right to representation.
“Now that the judge has issued her decision, I urge all agencies that have attempted to enforce this illegal executive order to restore all previously negotiated contracts and to bargain in good faith with employee representatives on any future changes as required under the law,” Cox said.
Our union held a conference call with reporters July 12 to discuss the administration’s outrageous Executive Orders that seek to undermine America’s union and workforce.
Union officials at the Social Security Administration and others are being stripped of access to vital tools that help us represent working people as we are required to do by law, including telephones, computers, Internet access, and even bulletin boards.
Barri Sue Bryant, president of AFGE Local 2908 representing SSA employees in Philadelphia, told reporters that the Trump administration is making it nearly impossible to represent employees.
“They told us yesterday that they won’t allow us to use leave without pay, or only in extremely limited conditions, to do representational duties,” she said.
The executive orders have caused even more chaos at severely understaffed federal prisons, which have been struggling to respond to the influx of immigrant detainees.
“Their attempts to silence us are creating nothing but chaos in the prison system,” said John Kostelnik, president of AFGE Local 3969 which represents Bureau of Prisons employees in Victorville, Calif.
Undermining our democratic values
The Trump administration has gone from being out of control to a serious threat to our democracy.
While poll after poll has shown the American people overwhelmingly support labor unions, the weak Trump administration is being dictated by powerful special interests to do the dirty work for them. The Heritage Foundation, a fake think-tank funded by the likes of the Koch brothers, are openly pushing for policies that are bad for working people but good for businesses. A former Heritage employee now sits on Trump’s Domestic Policy Council and helps craft anti-worker policies like hiring freezes and retirement cuts.
Our union exists to protect the merit systems, ensure justice, equality, and workers’ voice – all important factors for our government to serve and protect the American people. We make sure researchers, scientists, doctors, nurses, and other public servants have the tools and resources they need to do their jobs. But this administration is showing zero leadership in helping them do their jobs better.
Red for Feds Day of Action
Our union has filed lawsuits against the administration and has been joined by other unions and even members of Congress who are disgusted by this administration’s behavior.
The hearing is set for July 25, which is ourRed for Feds Day of Action.We will gather in Washington, D.C. and take action in our communities nationwide. Join us and RSVP here.
An all-out war on the U.S. labor movement
The three executive orders are part of a larger campaign that has been going on for decades to purge unions and workers’ ability to demand a safe, just workplace.
Acting on behalf of business interests, politicians and officials from all levels all the way up to the Supreme Court are rewriting rules and laws to help enrich the wealthiest 1% while keeping wages low and health care and pensions close to non-existent for the rest of us.
The wealthy and business interests have a reason to continue to chip away at the labor movement: economists have linked the decline of unions to wage stagnation and rising inequality, as workers lose the bargaining power to demand better pay.
Here are a few examples of what they have recently done:
Janus v. AFSCME
In an attempt on AFGE’s D.C. locals and other unions representing state and local public employees,
the Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) allowing non-union members who benefit from union work like higher pay and better benefits to not have to pay their fair share.
Before the decision, non-union members were already able to opt out of paying for the union’s political and organizing activities. They only paid for the cost of collective bargaining which they benefited. This divide-and-conquer tactic seeks to force unions to do all the work for free for everybody until it runs out of money and collapse, bringing workers’ rights along with it.
The Janus ruling overturns its 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, which allowed public-sector unions to collect fair-share fees from workers who have not joined the union yet benefit from the union’s contract and other services.
Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis
Prior to Janus, the Supreme Court had issued another decision that helped advance corporate interests. The high court ruled that companies can force employees into lengthy and expensive one-on-one arbitration procedures instead of allowing them to pursue class-action grievances.
Right-to-work-for-less laws
Acting on behalf of business interests, politicians have managed to pass the right-to-work-for-less laws in 28 states to undermine workers and their unions in the private sector.
U.S. labor law requires that unions represent all employees in the workplace they have unionized. Unions are allowed to collect a fair share fee from non-members who benefit from union work – higher wages, better benefits, and a safer workplace. Right-to-work-for-less laws allow non-members in the private sector to benefit from union work without having to pay for the fee. These right-to-work-for-less laws have hurt union finances and ability to bargain for better wages and benefits – exactly what businesses want.
Wisconsin
Bankrolled by the likes of the Koch brothers, newly elected Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in 2011 launched a crusade against the middle class. Walker signed into law a bill that stripped state workers most of their collective bargaining rights. It prohibited public sector unions from bargaining over health coverage, pensions, hours, safety issues, sick leave, and vacations. The only thing unions could negotiate was base pay, but that was also limited to the rate of inflation. The law also required employees to pay more towards their pensions and repealed a fair-share union fee requirement. It ended automatic union dues collection by the state and required the unions to recertify annually. Union membership in Wisconsin dropped sharply as workers’ take-home pay got cut and unions could no longer help them as much.
Teachers’ strikes
Politicians and privatizers’ war on public school teachers has been raging on for decades. The teachers are overworked, underpaid, and very much vilified. While states freely cut taxes for the wealthy, also cut too are teachers’ pay and retirement. That’s why from West Virginia to Oklahoma, teachers went on strike and took to the streets to demand a raise and respect. We stand behind these teachers and condemn these irresponsible politicians.
We must fight back
The Trump administration is a threat to our core values of democracy and justice.
In a landmark decision, a federal judge has ruled that President Trump violated the U.S. Constitution and laws providing checks and balances in the federal government by attempting to deny more than 2 million federal workers their legal right to representation.
