| Washington, DC– American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley has issued the following statement: |
The correctional officers and staff who oversee the more than 142,000 inmates housed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 122 facilities nationwide work in some of the most challenging and dangerous conditions imaginable – making it all that more deplorable that this administration has seen fit to strip them of their union contract.
“President Trump is leading an unprecedented assault on the collective bargaining rights of more than a million American citizens who have devoted their careers to public service. His administration has terminated collective bargaining agreements covering the doctors and nurses who care for our veterans, the USDA inspectors who ensure our food is safe to eat, the FEMA specialists who are first on the ground when a natural disaster strikes, the journalists who provide independent reporting to citizens living in oppressive nations, and now the law enforcement officers and staff who oversee federal inmates.
Stripping federal correctional officers and other BOP employees of their union contract will make it that much harder for them to highlight and address the staffing shortages, workplace dangers, and other issues that they face on a daily basis.
I call on Congress to take immediate action to restore union rights for employees in the Bureau of Prisons and in every federal agency by passing the Protect America’s Workforce Act
