FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2022, representing federal (civilian) workers at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, held a demonstration Wednesday to raise awareness about recent executive orders that target federal workers.
The workers gathered with signs Wednesday, July 25 at Patriots Park in front of Fort Campbell’s Gate 3.
On Friday, May 25, 2018, President Donald Trump issued three executive orders related to union representation and employees’ rights in the workplace. Members of AFGE along with other unions across the nation filed a lawsuit against the orders, citing a violation of the First Amendment. A hearing for the lawsuit will be held in Washington Wednesday.
“Federal employees across the nation are standing behind employees’ rights to organize, to be represented, and due process for federal employees,” AFGE Local 2022 President Judy Hansford said during Wednesday’s demonstration.
Vice President of the organization, Sabrena Gillespie, echoed the sentiment.
“Unions are what built the middle class,” Gillespie said. “We are behind workers’ rights, civil rights, and human rights and those are being affected today in this present administration.”
Photos by Lee Erwin/ClarksvilleNow.com
The executive orders do the following, according to AFGE:
“1. Severely limits federal workers’ rights and access to representation in the workplace, including drastically limiting the time union representatives are available to represent employees when legally required to do so (official time).
2. Undermines civil service merit principles. It will now be easier for managers to retaliate, discriminate, and fire employees. This EO also lowers the importance of seniority in the case of reductions in force.
3. Restricts federal workers’ collective bargaining rights. Your union negotiates workplace conditions such as reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities, employee training, overtime, telework and flexible work schedules. Without the ability to bargain, management can set workplace policy unilaterally.”
The organization says these orders will “silence the voices” of the 2.1 million federal employees in the U.S. The AFGE also says 30 percent of federal employees are veterans.
“Federal workers are some of the hardest working Americans, they truly are America’s workforce serving the public by keeping our air clean, our water drinkable, serving the elderly, and keeping our borders and skies safe,” the union said in a release. “We know our rights, and we know how to exercise them.”
You can visit the White House’s official website to read the executive orders and visit AFGE’s website for information about the union.