Coalition of 22 Federal Unions to Membership: Tell Congress You Are Not a Bargaining Chip

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: William R. Dougan, Chairman
Phone: (202) 216-4458

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Workers Alliance, a coalition of 22 unions collectively representing over 300,000 federal workers government-wide, is urging federal employees across the country to call their members of Congress this week and tell them to prevent draconian cuts to federal jobs and compensation as part of a payroll tax cut extension.

The campaign comes as Congress readies itself to consider further proposals to extend the two-year federal pay freeze and slash retirement benefits as a “pay-for” for the payroll tax cut extension. Though FWA members ardently support extending the payroll tax cut, we believe it is unfair to target federal workers for further cuts when they have already sacrificed immensely to reduce the deficit.

“Federal workers are sick and tired of being used as a political bargaining chip,” said FWA Chairman William R. Dougan. “They swallowed hard and accepted a $60 billion two-year pay freeze in addition to trillions in agency budget cuts; they have been brought within hours of a government shutdown and catastrophic default; politicians have called them overpaid, under worked bureaucrats more times than I can count. At some point you have to stand up and say enough is enough. That day will be today for thousands of dedicated federal employees.”

The message FWA unions’ membership will bring to Congress is plain and simple: keep the politics out of the way and let us do our jobs.

“Federal workers provide critically important services to the American people every day,” said Dougan. “They are the reason why our men and women in uniform are the best-equipped military ever assembled; the reason thousands of tons of illegal narcotics are stopped at the border every year; the reason that our seniors get their social security check on time; the reason your relatives had a safe flight home from Thanksgiving; and why our food is safe to eat. Slashing their pay and retirement will result in an exodus of hundreds of thousands of our most experienced federal workers at a time when our country needs them the most. Federal employees will be sure to remind their elected officials of that today.”