Van Hollen, Senate Democrats Urge Trump to Reconsider, Rescind Civil Service Executive Orders
Today, U.S.
Senator Chris Van Hollen led a letter with 44 of his Senate Democratic
colleagues noting their serious concerns surrounding the President’s recent
executive orders pertaining to civil service. The Senators urged the
Administration to reconsider and rescind the Orders, pointing to the negative
impacts they will have.
The
Senators write, “We
respectfully request that you reconsider and rescind Executive Orders 13836,
13837, and 13839, which undermine the lawful rights and protections
afforded to federal employees. At a minimum, we hope you will ensure that
managers at federal agencies do not use these executive orders inappropriately
to circumvent existing collective bargaining agreements between agencies
and federal workers.”
They state, “The approximately two
million men and women in the federal civil service are dedicated and
hardworking professionals. They safeguard our national security and food
safety, perform lifesaving medical procedures, deliver Social Security and
veterans’ benefits, and fulfill countless other responsibilities on
behalf of our citizens. The recent executive orders undermine
the decades-old rights of federal employees to
fair representation in the workplace”
The Senators also note that they “support improving
the performance of the federal workforce, but these executive orders will do
the opposite” and that “[s]ome federal agencies already appear to
be abrogating existing collective bargaining agreements by citing
these executive orders.”
They close stating, “It is time
to stop the attacks on our federal workers. These are also attacks on our
veterans, who make up roughly one-third of the federal civilian workforce. We
need to keep politics out of the civil service, and we urge you to reconsider
these executive orders.”
In addition to Senator Van Hollen, the
letter was signed by Senators Kaine (D-Va.), Brown (D-Ohio), Cardin
(D-Md.), Schatz (D-Hawaii), Hirono (D-Hawaii), Warner (D-Va.), Blumenthal
(D-Conn.), Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Shaheen (D-N.H.), Carper (D-Del.), Murray (D-Wash.),
Markey (D-Mass.), Duckworth (D-Ill.), Cantwell (D-Wash.), Warren (D-Mass.),
Hassan (D-N.H.), Harris (D-Calif.), Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Peters (D-Mich.), King
(I-Maine), Sanders (I-Vt.), Baldwin (D-Wis.), Schumer (D-N.Y.), Durbin
(D-Ill.), Reed (D-R.I.), Booker (D-N.J.), Smith (D-Minn.), Coons (D-Del.),
Casey (D-Pa.), Bennet (D-Colo.), Menendez (D-N.J.), Udall (D-N.M.), Merkley
(D-Ore.), Donnelly (D-Ind.), Wyden (D-Ore.), Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Jones
(D-Ala.), Feinstein (D-Calif.), Nelson (D-Fla.), Stabenow (D-Mich.), Heinrich
(D-N.M.), Leahy (D-Vt.), Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Murphy (D-Conn.).
The text of the letter is here and below.
President Donald Trump
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Trump:
We write to express our serious
concerns about recent actions to undermine the foundations of our civil
service system. We respectfully request that you reconsider and rescind
Executive Orders 13836, 13837, and 13839, which undermine the
lawful rights and protections afforded to federal employees. At a
minimum, we hope you will ensure that managers at federal agencies do not use
these executive orders inappropriately to circumvent existing collective
bargaining agreements between agencies and federal workers.
The approximately two million
men and women in the federal civil service are dedicated and hardworking
professionals. They safeguard our national security and food safety,
perform lifesaving medical procedures, deliver Social Security and veterans’
benefits, and fulfill countless other responsibilities on behalf of
our citizens.
The recent executive orders undermine
the decades-old rights of federal employees to
fair representation in the workplace. These orders significantly
reduce the extent to which federal agencies will negotiate collective
bargaining agreements with their workforce. Instead, federal agencies or
outside panels will impose workplace policies without good faith negotiation.
Imposing arbitrary limits on the
time that federal employees can carry out statutory duties to
represent fellow employees – known as official
time – makes it harder to resolve workplace disputes and root
out waste, fraud, and abuse. The law already requires federal agencies and
unions to negotiate agreements that require official time to
be “reasonable, necessary, and in the public interest” (5
U.S.C. § 7131) and official time has helped prevent cover-ups of
disease outbreaks, address racial harassment, and expedite benefits for
veterans.
We support improving the
performance of the federal workforce, but these executive orders will do the
opposite. These executive orders discourage federal agencies from using their
discretion to create reasonable plans for federal employees to improve their
performance if they are at risk of demotion or termination. Firing employees
without due process undermines the merit-based civil service system, and opens
the door for managers to satisfy their own personal vendettas or political
agendas.
Some federal agencies already appear to
be abrogating existing collective bargaining agreements by citing
these executive orders. We ask that you direct agency and department heads to
cease and desist from doing so.
It is time to stop the attacks on our
federal workers. These are also attacks on our veterans, who make up roughly
one-third of the federal civilian workforce. We need to keep politics out of
the civil service, and we urge you to reconsider these executive orders.
Sincerely,
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