Today of course is Christmas, but for many federal workers here and across the country, there’s not a lot to celebrate.
The federal government is now in the third shutdown this year, a failure for both the American people and the 40 percent of the federal workforce that will be forced to go without a paycheck for as long as this stalemate lasts. American Federation of Government Employees President J. David Cox Senior minced no words, calling the shutdown “a dereliction of duty by Congress and the president,” adding that it’s “forcing the men and women who safeguard our country to work for free – while hundreds of thousands more get sent home without pay.” AFSCME President Lee Saunders also pulled no punches, saying that “Shutting down the government to build a border wall and satisfy a divisive agenda is the height of irresponsible political brinkmanship.” Saunders said that the shutdown “falls hardest on hundreds of public service workers and their families, who deserve respect rather than contempt from their elected leaders.” Both union leaders called on President Trump and Congress to return to the table, put our communities first and work to end “this unnecessary and harmful shutdown.” In today’s labor history, on this date in 1967, fourteen servicemen from military bases across the U.S., led by Private Andrew Stapp, formed The American Servicemen’s Union, or ASU. The union, which never came close to being recognized by the government, in its heyday during the Viet Nam war claimed tens of thousands of members and had chapters at bases, on ships and in Viet Nam. ASU demands included the right to elect officers. Today’s labor quote is by David Cortright, an enlisted soldier opposed to the Viet Nam war when he read an article in 1968 about Andrew Stapp’s attempts to organize the American Servicemen’s Union. David Cortright, who said: “To me, it was like a light going off, like a flash of illumination, that maybe I could do the same.” Cortright organized protests against the war and went on to become a professor of peace studies at the University of Notre Dame. Union City Radio is supported by Union Plus, which offers special rebates for union members shopping for a new car or truck this holiday season. Visit unionplus.org to find out more.
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