July 8th, Today was tough

Written by

AFGE Local 704

Published on

July 9, 2019
BlogAFGE

Hello AFGE 704 bargaining unit members-

Today was tough! Trump imposed a set of work rules on us that mirror the contract we forwarded to you two weeks ago. We have heard that a number of folks were misled by the description of events in the email circulated by Amy Sanders.

First, these rules are exactly the same rules Trump is imposing on other federal unions all across the nation. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/03/social-security-agency-union-contract-trump-administration The rules were first proposed in Executive Orders. AFGE got a court to overturn the rules because they are illegal. Now, Trump is unilaterally imposing them in contracts. It would not have helped to have negotiated a contact earlier. NTEU’s current contact dates from 2015. It is expiring- and this fall, NTEU is facing the same contract terms we are. By giving us 2 weeks notice of the work rules, the Trump Administration pressured us to agree to them. If we agreed to them, there would be no fight. Trump was willing to take a few days to see if he could get these rules for free. But the union, with your help, will fight the rules until we get them overturned. Management’s description of events was a sorry attempt at blaming the union for the rules that Trump imposed upon you. We are confident that everyone has seen enough of this Administration in action not to fall for that.

Please come to the Thursday July 11th – Lunch/E-Dues Sign-Up, Room 330, 12-1:00pm, plus General Questions answered.

The rally on Monday, July 8th was a big hit. (see banner image with with Scabby the Rat) If you follow our twitter account @704afge, you can get minute by minute information. Please spread the word and let all employees know they must give us their email addresses so we can keep everyone informed of all developments as they move forward.

Any questions should be sent to 704afge@gmail.com.