The EPA’s biggest union wants to wrap up its next contract before the 2024 presidential election, for fear that an unfriendly administration will claw away rights and privileges that aren’t locked in, union leaders said.
“That is key,” said Marie Owens Powell, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 238, which represents roughly half of the Environmental Protection Agency’s workforce. “We have to get as much as we can as quickly as we can.”
That gives the AFGE about two years to reach a deal with the agency, said Powell, speaking on a Tuesday night conference call with union members to rally support in advance of contract talks, which start on Monday.
A contract with robust language on promotions, health and safety, and other items on the union’s wish list would mean a hostile administration wouldn’t be able to violate those terms without risking a lawsuit, said Joyce Howell, AFGE’s executive vice president.
“We didn’t ever think some of this stuff would happen,” Howell said, referring to protections the union lost during the Trump administration. “It did happen. And now we don’t want it to ever happen again.”
The union is also pushing for a lengthy contract term of 10 years, Powell said, although she added she’s “not that hopeful” the EPA will agree.
The EPA couldn’t be immediately reached for comment during...
The National Board of Directors of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA) hereby alerts the general public to a growing pattern of impersonation, misrepresentation, and the unau...