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'What's disgusting? Union busting.' The AFGE on Wednesday filed suit against the Trump administration over its attack on the right of public sector unions to organize. (Photo: @AFGENational)
'This Is a Democracy, Not a Dictatorship': Federal Workers Union Sues Donald Trump
"This president seems to think he is above the law, and we are not going to stand by while he tries to shred workers' rights."
May 31, 2018
The nation's largest union of federal workers filed suit against the Trump administration on Wednesday over an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that seeks to deny workers the right to job site representation--an established guarantee in existing labor law.
"This is more than union busting - it's democracy busting." --J. David Cox Sr., AFGE president
The lawsuit (pdf) by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a member of the AFL-CIO which represents approximately 700,000 federal employees, argues that among a slate of anti-worker orders signed by the president last Friday, one of them specifically exceeds the president's constitutional authority and violates the First Amendment right of workers to freely associate.
"This president seems to think he is above the law, and we are not going to stand by while he tries to shred workers' rights," said AFGE national president J. David Cox Sr., in a statement announcing the lawsuit. "This is a democracy, not a dictatorship. No president should be able to undo a law he doesn't like through administrative fiat."
As the Cleveland Plain Dealerreported on Friday, the executive orders signed by Trump last week are "intended to crack down on unions that represent federal employees and to make it easier to fire federal workers."
\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s recent executive orders are an assault on federal employees\u2019 legal rights and protection. Call 202-456-1111 and urge the White House to protect working people. @AFGENational #1u\u201d— Department for Professional Employees (@Department for Professional Employees) 1527433202
Taken together, the orders signed by Trump are designed to limit the amount of on-duty time federal workers can spend on union business, make it easier to fire employees, and compel federal agencies throughout the government to forge less-friendly contracts with unions.
"This is more than union busting - it's democracy busting," Cox said on Friday after the president's signing of the orders was announced. "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."
In his statement on Wednesday regarding the AFGE's lawsuit, Cox said that Congress has laid out clear workplace labor laws to protect organized federal employees in order "to guarantee workers a collective voice in resolving workplace issues and improving the services they deliver to the public every day - whether it's caring for veterans, ensuring our air and water are safe, preventing illegal weapons and drugs from crossing our borders, or helping communities recover from hurricanes and other disasters."
The lawsuit, he added, shows that federal employees "will not stand by and let this administration willfully violate the Constitution to score political points."
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
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The nation's largest union of federal workers filed suit against the Trump administration on Wednesday over an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that seeks to deny workers the right to job site representation--an established guarantee in existing labor law.
"This is more than union busting - it's democracy busting." --J. David Cox Sr., AFGE president
The lawsuit (pdf) by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a member of the AFL-CIO which represents approximately 700,000 federal employees, argues that among a slate of anti-worker orders signed by the president last Friday, one of them specifically exceeds the president's constitutional authority and violates the First Amendment right of workers to freely associate.
"This president seems to think he is above the law, and we are not going to stand by while he tries to shred workers' rights," said AFGE national president J. David Cox Sr., in a statement announcing the lawsuit. "This is a democracy, not a dictatorship. No president should be able to undo a law he doesn't like through administrative fiat."
As the Cleveland Plain Dealerreported on Friday, the executive orders signed by Trump last week are "intended to crack down on unions that represent federal employees and to make it easier to fire federal workers."
\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s recent executive orders are an assault on federal employees\u2019 legal rights and protection. Call 202-456-1111 and urge the White House to protect working people. @AFGENational #1u\u201d— Department for Professional Employees (@Department for Professional Employees) 1527433202
Taken together, the orders signed by Trump are designed to limit the amount of on-duty time federal workers can spend on union business, make it easier to fire employees, and compel federal agencies throughout the government to forge less-friendly contracts with unions.
"This is more than union busting - it's democracy busting," Cox said on Friday after the president's signing of the orders was announced. "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."
In his statement on Wednesday regarding the AFGE's lawsuit, Cox said that Congress has laid out clear workplace labor laws to protect organized federal employees in order "to guarantee workers a collective voice in resolving workplace issues and improving the services they deliver to the public every day - whether it's caring for veterans, ensuring our air and water are safe, preventing illegal weapons and drugs from crossing our borders, or helping communities recover from hurricanes and other disasters."
The lawsuit, he added, shows that federal employees "will not stand by and let this administration willfully violate the Constitution to score political points."
The nation's largest union of federal workers filed suit against the Trump administration on Wednesday over an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that seeks to deny workers the right to job site representation--an established guarantee in existing labor law.
"This is more than union busting - it's democracy busting." --J. David Cox Sr., AFGE president
The lawsuit (pdf) by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a member of the AFL-CIO which represents approximately 700,000 federal employees, argues that among a slate of anti-worker orders signed by the president last Friday, one of them specifically exceeds the president's constitutional authority and violates the First Amendment right of workers to freely associate.
"This president seems to think he is above the law, and we are not going to stand by while he tries to shred workers' rights," said AFGE national president J. David Cox Sr., in a statement announcing the lawsuit. "This is a democracy, not a dictatorship. No president should be able to undo a law he doesn't like through administrative fiat."
As the Cleveland Plain Dealerreported on Friday, the executive orders signed by Trump last week are "intended to crack down on unions that represent federal employees and to make it easier to fire federal workers."
\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s recent executive orders are an assault on federal employees\u2019 legal rights and protection. Call 202-456-1111 and urge the White House to protect working people. @AFGENational #1u\u201d— Department for Professional Employees (@Department for Professional Employees) 1527433202
Taken together, the orders signed by Trump are designed to limit the amount of on-duty time federal workers can spend on union business, make it easier to fire employees, and compel federal agencies throughout the government to forge less-friendly contracts with unions.
"This is more than union busting - it's democracy busting," Cox said on Friday after the president's signing of the orders was announced. "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."
In his statement on Wednesday regarding the AFGE's lawsuit, Cox said that Congress has laid out clear workplace labor laws to protect organized federal employees in order "to guarantee workers a collective voice in resolving workplace issues and improving the services they deliver to the public every day - whether it's caring for veterans, ensuring our air and water are safe, preventing illegal weapons and drugs from crossing our borders, or helping communities recover from hurricanes and other disasters."
The lawsuit, he added, shows that federal employees "will not stand by and let this administration willfully violate the Constitution to score political points."
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