While Congress was on vacation the week before the 4th of July holiday, thousands of NFFE-IAM members and their fellow federal workers were taking action.
The Furlough Red Zone Campaign, launched by the 20-union Federal Workers Alliance (FWA) was a huge success both on Capitol Hill and in the press. In just one week, the campaign netted over 4300 individual letters to 364 Congressional offices. Coming from all 50 states, the letters sent the straightforward message that Congress needs to do their job and end the reckless furloughs.
“Behind every good soldier is a team of good Defense civilians,” the letter reads. “These are the dedicated men and women who support the mission of our troops abroad and defend our families against threats at home. These individuals need to be on the job – not on the couch.”
Amidst all of the actions federal workers took to raise awareness, the national media weighed in with a slew of stories highlighting the furloughs. In just a matter of days NFFE members began to appear in major publications such as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and CNN, among others. Several Local leaders also took their stories to local papers and news channels, bringing their struggles straight to the living rooms of their friends and neighbors. In all, their stories reached millions of readers throughout the country, educating the wider public on the urgency to act against the furloughs.
“We are so proud of the work every Union sister and brother put into this campaign,” said Dougan. “The groundswell of support is exactly what is needed to wake up Congress and spur action on these reckless furloughs. We will continue this fight here in Washington until every last furlough day has been eliminated. We ask that you stand with us and continue to make your voice heard from all across the U.S.”
In the coming weeks, NFFE and our FWA coalition members will work with Defense and elected officials in Washington to reduce or eliminate the furloughs outright. Your support has been and will continue to be critical as we take this fight to the next level. Thanks to all those who participated by making calls, sending letters, and sharing our social media posts – we could not do it without you.
To learn how you can get involved in legislative issues impacting federal employees, visit the NFFE Legislative Action Center at www.nffe.org/takeaction. You can also learn more about getting your issues in the media by visiting the NFFE Communicator’s Toolkit at www.nffe.org/gettalking.
