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AFGE President: Trump budget continues assault on working class families


WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. today issued the following statement:

AFGE logo. (PRNewsFoto/American Federation of Government Employees)

"President Trump's budget is nothing less than a roadmap for dismantling the career civil service and handing over our most sacred public institutions to political donors and party loyalists.

"Federal workers shouldn't be hired or fired on the whims of political appointees whose allegiance is to their political party, not the country's best interests. By stripping employees of their due process rights and firing those who reject his politics, President Trump is opening the door for rampant corruption, discrimination, and worker intimidation.

"No group has lost more to deficit reduction than the federal workforce, with a three-year pay freeze, two government shutdowns, unpaid furloughs, and huge benefits cuts. Yet President Trump is proposing even more drastic cuts to workers' wages, retirement security, health insurance, workers' compensation benefits, and even their basic right to join a union and bargain over their work conditions.

"The financial hit alone to federal workers would climb to $246 billion over 10 years if President Trump succeeds in freezing their wages next year. Meanwhile, corporations and the wealthiest individuals are receiving massive windfalls thanks to unwarranted and unpaid tax cuts.

"The women and men who serve our country deserve our support and respect, not calls for slashing their pay and benefits and politicizing their jobs."

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 700,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees



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