WASHINGTON, D.C. [03/04/20]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) urged Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper to make sure the Pentagon upholds workplace protections and safeguards the collective bargaining rights of Department of Defense (DoD) civilian employees.
Sen. Smith—in an effort with the entire Senate Democratic Caucus led by Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I)—wrote to Secretary Esper following a Trump Administration memorandum directing Sec. Esper to consider abolishing collective bargaining rights for as many as 750,000 of DoD’s civilian workers, including a diverse workforce of janitors, firefighters, food service workers, teachers, depot maintenance technicians, welders and other professionals. The senators strongly disagree with the President’s claims that collective bargaining rights could pose a threat to national security.
“We support efforts that strengthen our national security, however this Memorandum represents a serious incursion on federal employees’ collective bargaining rights and sets a dangerous precedent in suggesting that those rights somehow compromise our national security,” wrote the senators. “We urge you to exercise great restraint in using this new authority and continue to maintain the historically productive relationship that DOD has with its employee unions.”
In their letter to Sec. Esper, the senators highlight that unionized workers have benefited DoD and actually enhance national security, writing: “There is no evidence that the presence of unionized employees has ever had any negative impact on DOD’s national security mission. In fact, DOD and its unions have always had a mutually beneficial partnership. Unions have helped draw attention to health and safety hazards, as well as instances of waste, fraud, and abuse on the part of contractors. Moreover, a unionized workforce allows DOD to recruit and retain highly-skilled employees who might otherwise work elsewhere. In short, we believe that the Department’s unionized workforce has enhanced our security, not detracted from it. President Trump’s Memorandum arbitrarily and needlessly threatens this positive relationship.”
You can read full text of the letter here or below:
March 4, 2020
The Honorable Mark T. Esper
Secretary of Defense
U.S. Department of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301
Dear Secretary Esper:
We write to express our concerns regarding President Trump’s January 29, 2020 Memorandum to the Department of Defense (DOD), “Delegation of Certain Authority under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.” We support efforts that strengthen our national security, however this Memorandum represents a serious incursion on federal employees’ collective bargaining rights and sets a dangerous precedent in suggesting that those rights somehow compromise our national security. We urge you to exercise great restraint in using this new authority and continue to maintain the historically productive relationship that DOD has with its employee unions.
DOD has successfully bargained with its unionized workers under various arrangements since 1962, and DOD civilian employees have been included in the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute since its inception in 1978. During that time, America has been engaged in many international conflicts and national emergencies. There is no evidence that the presence of unionized employees has ever had any negative impact on DOD’s national security mission. In fact, DOD and its unions have always had a mutually beneficial partnership. Unions have helped draw attention to health and safety hazards, as well as instances of waste, fraud, and abuse on the part of contractors. Moreover, a unionized workforce allows DOD to recruit and retain highly-skilled employees who might otherwise work elsewhere. In short, we believe that the Department’s unionized workforce has enhanced our security, not detracted from it. President Trump’s Memorandum arbitrarily and needlessly threatens this positive relationship.
The Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute of 1978 is the cornerstone of our civil service, and it clearly states that labor organizations and collective bargaining in the federal sector “safeguards the public interest.” Stripping long-included employees of the statute’s protections is counterproductive to DOD’s national security mission, and the President’s Memorandum fails to articulate why such a drastic change is necessary. We strongly discourage you from taking steps to eliminate the statutorily-granted collective bargaining rights of DOD civilians.
Sincerely,
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