Pretty interesting…glad AFGE is defending federal service
AFGE CHALLENGES ATTACKS AGAINST FEDERAL WORKFORCE, PROMOTES PUBLIC
SERVICES
Nation’s Largest Federal Employee Union Launches Good Government
Advertising Campaign
(WASHINGTON) – The American Federation of Government Employees, which
represents 600,000 workers in 75 different federal and DC government
agencies, today, launched a nationwide radio ad campaign reminding
listeners of how many areas of their lives are served by government
employees.
The 60 second radio spot features John Gage, AFGE national president,
along with several AFGE members who work in the Bureau of Prisons, the
Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration.
Over the past 18 months there has been a real push by some politicians
and media talking heads to demonize federal employees. That kind of
recklessness speech has fueled a dangerous atmosphere targeting federal
workers,” said Gage. “In reality, federal workers provide many of the
services that highlight America’s greatness.
The ad is an attempt by the union to humanize federal workers, who have
frequently been scapegoated for the nation’s fiscal problems. “Whenever
there is a fiscal crunch there are always those who hastily call for a
reduction of federal employees,” said Gage. “We want people to know what
those irresponsible ploys really mean. They mean reductions in social
security for our seniors. They mean reduced services for our veterans.
And, they mean fewer guards at our federal prisons. The men and women of
the federal service are not nameless, faceless bureaucrats. They’re what
hold our nation together.”
Far too often, the narrative of federal service is dictated by those
whose political disposition is to destroy it or weaken it beyond
recognition. AFGE has launched this campaign to confront that message.
“As the voice of so many federal workers, it is our responsibility to
bring some clarity,” said Gage. “Now more than ever, our nation needs
responsible, sober-minded federal professionals and a quality government
that is responsive to the needs of the American people.”
###
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest
federal employee union, representing 600,000 workers in the federal
government and the government of the District of Columbia.
http://www.afge.org/index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=1199&fro
m=home
From my personal observations what the union is best at is obstructing progress and protecting incompetent workers who should have been fired.
It’s difficult for them to defend hard data. Just this week news outlets were reporting the large pay gap between federal workers and the private sector.
Federal Workers Earning Double Their Private Counterparts
At a time when workers’ pay and benefits have stagnated, federal employees’ average compensation has grown to more than double what private sector workers earn, a USA TODAY analysis finds.
At Labor Day picnic in Ohio, Obama pays tribute to workers.
Federal workers have been awarded bigger average pay and benefit increases than private employees for nine years in a row. The compensation gap between federal and private workers has doubled in the past decade. (click here to read the rest of the story)
Carl – as a member of the AFGE and former officer, I know for a fact that we DO NOT protect incompetent workers. If an employee is wrong, we tell them so, and we will work with them to sit down with management and come up with a solution to their problem…sometimes it does result in dismissal, but we try to work it out so everyone wins and agrees.
As far as ALL federal workers making more money than our private counterparts I believe the jury is still out on that issue. The article came out and showed that not ALL jobs made more money but plenty did; Obama ordered a government study to be done. There are questions concerning the pools of workers that were compared in the USA Today study.
I think we need to stick together. I for one think federal employees are overall a valuable resource and good workers. I’ve been one for over 26 years and alot of my friends are federal employees. Most private employees don’t understand what all we do…they think of us when they see overpaid elected officials accused of taking bribes. How’s about a little watching each other’s backs…since so few other people are????