Members of the AFGE and Veterans for Peace have demonstrated relentlessly near the Minneapolis VA hospital as the Trump administration’s attacks keep coming.
Senators push back against Trump’s union-busting
March 11, 2020 by
In his administration’s latest swipe at federal unions, President Trump last month gave Defense Secretary Mark Esper unprecedented authority to strip collective bargaining rights from nearly 750,000 civilian workers at the agency. Democratic senators, including Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, urged Esper in a letter last week “to exercise great restraint” with his new […]
McCollum, Craig hear workers’ shutdown stories – and safety concerns
January 19, 2019 by
“The labor community is going to stand with our brothers and sisters in the federal workforce,” St. Paul RLF President Bobby Kasper said, “and it’s reassuring to know we have friends in Congress who will do the same.”
Smith pledges to fight for federal workers as shutdown hits home
January 11, 2019 by
The senator met with impacted federal workers at the airport today and called on Republicans to put people before the president’s political stunts.
Union members rally in Minneapolis to end shutdown
January 10, 2019 by
Tomorrow, tens of thousands of federal employees won’t get their regularly scheduled paychecks. Today, their union family rallied in Minneapolis – and cities across the U.S. – to say that’s not OK. Dozens of union members and retirees joined a demonstration along Hiawatha Avenue, just blocks from the Veterans Administration Medical Center. They called […]
In Minneapolis, hundreds rally against Social Security’s closed-door policy
August 28, 2014 by
Doors to the Social Security Administration’s field office in Minneapolis were locked at 3 p.m. yesterday, and they could stay locked permanently – in Minneapolis and at field offices across the country – if the federal agency gets its way. That’s the warning sounded by federal workers rallying on the street outside the Chicago Avenue office […]
Retirees, federal workers to Paulsen: ‘Shutdown has to stop’
October 16, 2013 by
Leaders in the U.S. Senate today unveiled a bipartisan agreement to end the partial government shutdown and extend the nation’s borrowing authority, but doubts remain as to whether the compromise will pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. As the spotlight shifted to the House, federal employees, union leaders and retirees paid a visit to Minnesota […]
Expenses, stress mount for essential employees during Tea Party shutdown
October 15, 2013 by
Gloria Jones and May Sy Lawrence won’t get paid for doing their jobs until Tea Party Republicans in Congress get serious about doing theirs. Jones and Lawrence are essential federal employees – officially classified as “accepted employees.” As they have throughout the 15-day shutdown, they showed up for work today at the Social Security Administration […]
Shutdown a ‘lose-lose scenario’ for veterans, furloughed workers
October 8, 2013 by
Is Stanley Walton’s work essential? That depends on whom you ask. Walton was one of 7,000 “non-essential” employees furloughed by the U.S. Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) today. He and about 150 others reported to the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling, where they were handed letters instructing them to stay home until lawmakers in Washington […]
Ellison backs DoD’s civilian employees in fight against furloughs
May 1, 2013 by
Plans to furlough 800,000 civilian employees in the Department of Defense will put the nation’s economic recovery – and its military readiness – at risk, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison said yesterday during a fiery speech to more than 100 members of the American Federation of Government Employees. AFGE’s Defense Conference, which represents more than 270,000 civilian […]
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