Bush Denies Bargaining Rights to 8,600 Federal Workers
In a final-days attack on workers’ rights, President Bush yesterday issued an executive order that denies collective bargaining rights to about 8,600 federal employees who work in national security, law enforcement and intelligence.
Nearly 1,000 of the workers currently are represented by a union, and some have been for more than 30 years. The biggest group affected by the order is the 5,000 employees of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which is now part of the Justice Department.
Peter Winch, national organizer for AFGE, the largest federal employee union, says the union is determined to fight the executive order.
