Council 220 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents most Social Security employees, has issued two different newsletters. One is called Unity and the other the National Council Digest. The newsletters feature articles about the union's preparations for upcoming contract negotiations with Social Security. Here is an excerpt from Unity:
... “Last November’s election results will certainly have a lot to do with our abilities to achieve success,” [Witold Skwierczynski, the President of Council 220] continued. “Under the Bush administration, the attitude was to diminish the Union’s strength and to de-unionize the workforce as much as possible. I expect just the opposite from President Obama.
“Unfortunately, current SSA Commissioner Astrue has cut off all communication with the Union and he has no inclination to provide employees with new benefits or better working conditions.” ...
“A grass roots employee movement will be the key to success, especially if Mr. Astrue doesn’t change his attitude toward SSA employees,” Skwierczynski believes.
2 comments:
The commissioner ". . .has no inclination to provide employees with new benefits . . ."
Aren't federal employees still prohibited from negotiating for wages and benefits?
The union is of course forbidden to strike, but nothing is stopping it from conducting rulebook slowdowns and sickouts. However, the union has always shrunk from any degree of activism other than lip service. It has always made the spurious claim that it needed more members in order to put pressure on management. The union simply does not have the will to achieve the most basic gains for its members, such as better wages and hours.
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