Send Your Best Wishes to Fort Hood Hero
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Sgt. Kimberly Munley is a bona fide hero, having risked her life to stop the alleged gunman who killed 13 people and injured 30 at Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5. Munley shot the alleged assailant, Maj. Nidal Hasan, four times, despite being shot herself. She currently is recovering from her injuries and is in stable condition.
Now her union, AFGE, has set up a site where you can send your best wishes to Sgt. Munley. Just click here and compose a message to her. Your messages will be collected and AFGE will deliver the messages to Munley on Friday, Nov. 20.
Munley, 34, is a member of AFGE Local 1920 and the mother of a three-year-old. She and her partner were the first to arrive at the Soldier Readiness Center, where Hasan allegedly opened fire.
AFGE President John Gage said Munley “acted with great heroism.”
Lt. Gen. Bob Cone, commanding general at Fort Hood, told CNN that Munley’s actions stopped Hasan cold and saved lives. He said Munley is a “trained, active first responder” who acted quickly after she “just happened to encounter the gunman.”
AFGE Member a Hero in Fort Hood Tragedy
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Sgt. Kimberly Munley, a civilian police officer at Fort Hood and an AFGE member, is being hailed as a hero for shooting the alleged gunman in yesterday’s bloody rampage at the Army base in Texas.
Today, AFGE released a statement honoring Munley’s “service, courage and commitment.” AFGE President John Gage said Munley “acted with great heroism.” Added Gage:
We offer our thoughts, our prayers, our support and our strength to our brave soldiers and their families, and our brothers and sisters, who are affected by this senseless and pointless tragedy.
Munley, 34, is a member of AFGE Local 1920 and the mother of a 3-year-old. She and her partner were the first to arrive at the Soldier Readiness Center, where Maj. Nidal Hasan allegedly opened fire, killing 13 and injuring 31.
Defense Employees Celebrate Repeal of Anti-Worker Personnel System
After a tough six-year battle, U.S. Department of Defense employees are celebrating a major victory today. The 2010 Defense authorization congressional conference committee yesterday repealed the anti-worker National Security Personnel System (NSPS).
Created by the Bush administration, the NSPS was fatally flawed from the beginning. The personnel system took away Defense Department workers’ right to collective bargaining and personnel appeals. After the last Republican-led Congress refused to block the NSPS, the United Department of Defense Workers Coalition (UDWC) worked tirelessly to restore fairness and equity to the workplace. Members of the coalition, made up of the 36 unions that represent Defense Department workers, helped get out the vote to ensure a Democratic majority in Congress and that majority restored the Defense workers’ collective bargaining rights as part of the 2009 Defense authorization bill.
Williams, Gage, Sullivan Re-Elected, Urge Fast Action to Rescue America’s Workers
Saying the best is yet to come for working people, three affiliated unions called for teamwork and urged their members to take advantage of the new political landscape in Washington to help working families.
Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) President James Williams, AFGE President John Gage and Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA) President Michael Sullivan, who all were re-elected at their unions’ conventions, echoed AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka’s call for union members to work together to take back the country. Trumka spoke at all three conventions.
Williams said the challenges facing working families will require unity and teamwork.
It’s all about team…we can’t overcome the challenges ahead of us all alone, we need each and every one of you to help us.
Airport Screeners Move Closer to Bargaining Rights
The nation’s 43.000 airport screeners are a big step closer to having the basic freedom to choose a union and bargain collectively. Last week, the House Homeland Security Committee approved legislation that would give transportation security officers (TSOs) the same workplace protections covering other federal employees.
Security screeners in airports around the country are the first line of defense against terrorism in our skies. But they suffer from high injury rates, attrition and low morale, according to the committee.
Although TSOs have been denied the freedom to bargain collectively, AFGE represents 10,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers nationwide and regularly represents these employees before the TSA Disciplinary Review Board, the Equal Opportunity Commission, Congress and in the courts.
Union Movement Mourns Andrea Brooks
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| Andrea Brooks |
The union movement is mourning the loss of AFGE vice president and AFL-CIO Executive Council member Andrea Brooks, 65, who died yesterday.
AFGE President John Gage said:
We are deeply saddened by the tremendous loss of a great friend to AFGE, the labor movement and to me personally. Andrea was an ardent fighter for civil, women’s and human rights in the workplace, and she will be sorely missed.
During the 2008 elections, Brooks led AFGE’s successful voter protection campaign and worked closely with several national organizations, including the AFL-CIO and Rock the Vote.
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.
