Federal Workers Prepare for Possible Sequestration & Furloughs
Monday, February 11, 2013(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
With
sequestration – and possible furloughs –
looking more and more likely, federal worker
unions and their members across the metro area
are mobilizing and preparing.
More than 1,500 AFGE and AFSCME members and
their supporters – including Sen.
Charles Schumer (D., NY), Rep. Chris Van Hollen
(D., MD), AFSCME President Lee
Saunders, AFGE President David Cox, and AFL-CIO
President Rich Trumka – will rally on Capitol Hill
tomorrow at noon to urge Congress to
shield vital government programs and services
from devastating budget cuts. The
two largest unions representing government
employees at the local, state and
federal levels are also calling Congress,
educating their members, lobbying and
getting ready to consult and bargain with
management over the effects of
sequestration, while the Metro Washington
Council’s Community Services Agency
is helping federal workers
prepare by battening down their
financial hatches. “We do not believe that
federal workers, who have already
contributed over $100 billion dollars toward
deficit reduction should have to
pay more so that large corporations can
continue ripping off the country
through tax loopholes and low tax rates,”
said AFSCME Council 26 Executive
Director Carl Goldman. “We don’t think that
Social Security, air traffic
safety, food inspection, programs that benefit
the rural poor and senior
citizens and more should be sacrificed to
help pay for the misdeeds of
Wall Street.”
- report by Chris Garlock; photo from AFGE
rally by Johnny
Walker