National President Dougan on Senate Fiscal Cliff Solution: “Federal Employees Got a Bad Deal”

In response to the Senate’s solution to the fiscal cliff, William R. Dougan, National President of the National Federation of Federal Employees, a union representing 110,000 federal employees government-wide, issued the following statement:

“The proposed fiscal cliff solution is a bad deal for federal employees. The most important federal workforce issue of our generation – sequestration – continues to hang over the head of federal employees throughout government. Furthermore, the failure to address the nation’s borrowing limit will likely lead to another prolonged political standoff, leaving federal workers uncertain of whether they will have a job to come back to for a third time in two years. Though the bill makes some progress toward shared sacrifice from the wealthiest Americans, it does not go far enough.

If we are to maintain a government capable of serving the vital needs of its people, we must put a permanent end to the non-stop partisan brinksmanship that has brought us to the edge so many times. Federal employees cannot continue to be a pawn in these political games. Should this bill pass, we urge Congress to use the next two months wisely to find an enduring and thoughtful solution to sequestration and the debt-ceiling. Federal workers, their families, and the public that they serve cannot afford anything less.”

# # #

Established in 1917, the National Federation of Federal Employees is the oldest union representing civil service federal employees. NFFE represents approximately 110,000 federal employees in nearly 40 separate departments and agencies government-wide. NFFE is affiliated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO. For more information, go to www.nffe.org.