Help Stop Federal Union-Busting Bills

Wisconsin State AFL-CIO

Our brothers and sisters in the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) are sounding the alarm on two anti-union bills working their way through Congress. AFGE members do a wide-range of government work such as inspecting the food we eat and the places we work, protecting citizens from the illicit flow of drugs, maintaining the safety of our nation’s borders, caring for our nation’s veterans, being a vital link to Social Security recipients and much, much more.

Right now, Anti-government employee lawmakers are trying to rush through bills that limit union rights and silence worker voices in the workplace. One bill attacks “official time,” a core principle of union rights that AFGE uses to help employees get fair representation in workplace disputes.

Here’s what you need to know about H.R. 1364, the Government-wide Anti-Union Representation Bill:

·         It eliminates the use of official time by making it far too difficult for managers and federal employees to successfully work together to address mission-related challenges

·         It revokes our union’s ability to stand up for workers who have been wrongfully fired, disciplined, harassed or intimidated

Disgusting, right? Wait until you hear about H.R. 1259, the VA Anti-Union Representation Bill:

·         This bill specifically targets Title 5 and Title 38 rights at the VA, and takes away all grievance rights for workers facing a removal, demotion or suspension

·         It gives agency officials the power to take back compensation you’ve already earned

·         The bill gives management the upper-hand by radically shortening the time unfairly fired VA workers can prepare their case

Here’s what we need you to do right now: Call the union rights hotline 1-855-976-5397 to connect with your lawmaker.

When the Representative’s office answers, tell them this:

“Hello, my name is _____, and I stand in solidarity with the American Federation of Government Employees union. Please tell the Representative to vote NO on H.R. 1364, and to vote NO on H.R. 1259. These bills do nothing to improve government. They simply attack workers’ rights and silence worker voices. Thank you.”

We must all work together to stop union busting dead in its tracks. Thank you for all that you do.

In solidarity,
Phil Neuenfeldt, President

Stephanie Bloomingdale, Secretary-Treasurer