Norton to Speak Up for Federal Employees at National Treasury Employees Union Rally, Wednesday
Norton to Speak Up for Federal Employees at National Treasury Employees Union Rally, Wednesday
March 1, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a member of the House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy, will deliver remarks at a National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) rally on Wednesday, March 2, at noon on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. Norton will be joined by House and Senate colleagues, including Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), to speak up against attacks that targeted federal employees even before the 112th Congress began.
"Republicans have made federal employees their top target, and do not want to be bothered with the facts about the indispensable services federal civil servants perform," said Norton. "From my seat on both the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and its subcommittee of jurisdiction, I have seen the work of our federal employees up close. Shutting them down, cutting their pay or destroying their collective bargaining rights must be taken off the table."
The Congresswoman, who has been a longtime advocate of federal employee workplace rights, will soon introduce a bill to make the legislative branch subject to the same federal workplace laws and standards as private businesses and executive branch agencies, and another bill to offer federal employees disability insurance at no cost to the federal government. Last year, Norton led an investigation into the complaints of Capitol Visitor Center tour guides who were compelled to work in uniforms inappropriate for outdoor work in the summer and winter, and had limits on water consumption. Norton's work and the formation of a union local by these employees led to many improvements in uniform and water consumption practices and policies.