After a little bit of self-inflicted drama, the president signed the FY 2018 Omnibus funding bill to keep the government running until September 30, 2018.
Next week, discussions regarding the FY 2019 appropriations bill will start. On the agenda, in brief, includes the president’s proposal to freeze pay for FY 2019, billions in cuts to pay and benefits for federal employees, rolling back civil service protections, reorganizing the government according to a plan that remains undisclosed, and a systematic attack on all federal unions to silence the voice of dedicated apolitical government employees.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” stated Randy Erwin, NFFE national president, “and every union member should do their part now to grow their local and solidify their relationships with their U.S. representatives and senators because these relationships will prove critical later this year.”
The FY 2019 proposal from the president’s budget requested between $200 and $300 billion in cuts to federal employee pay and benefits over the next 10 years. In addition, the recent release of the President’s Management Agenda confirmed that the administration seeks to make changes to pay and workforce laws, with an emphasis on destroying labor’s ability to represent their members.
“They can silence us only if we let them,” stated Erwin. “We need to make our case to Democrats and Republicans alike, and fight for the principles that literally built this great nation. If they silence us, there will be no one left to speak for federal workers, and no one left to defend Democracy from within.”
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