USW Applauds Passage of Bill to Protect Federal Workers’ Rights

Contact: R.J. Hufnagel, rhufnagel@usw.org, 412-562-2450

(Pittsburgh) – The United Steelworkers (USW) union released the following statement today from USW International President David McCall in response to the U.S. House’s bipartisan passage of the Protect America’s Workforce Act, which would reverse President Donald Trump’s executive order that cancelled union rights for roughly one million federal workers.

“The USW applauds and thanks the bipartisan coalition in the U.S. House that stood with America’s workers today and passed the Protect America’s Workforce Act.

“America’s workers deserve to be treated with respect by their employers and to have a voice on the job. These rights have been guaranteed for generations by federal law. Protecting these rights is one of the cornerstones of the American labor movement.

 “This bill would do far more than restore the vital rights that President Trump attempted to destroy with a unilateral executive order. It would make our country stronger, safer, and more prosperous by ensuring that our federal work force can perform the important public services with which they are charged, and that they can have vital protections while doing so.

“These workers care for our veterans, our senior citizens, and millions of other Americans who depend on vital services each day. They deserve the same protections all American workers deserve, and we urge the members of the U.S. Senate to join their colleagues in the House and quickly pass this legislation.”

The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.

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