Unions representing workers laid off at federal health and oversight agencies are heading to Washington, D.C., this week to protest past and continued cuts to their workforces by the federal governmentÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s new Department of Government Efficiency.
In a news release Friday, the American Federation of Government Employees ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” which represents workers at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” said it will join other labor unions, including the AFL-CIO, in a protest outside the federal Department of Health and Human Services headquarters at noon Thursday, May 22.
The unions are demanding four things, per the release:
Full reinstatement of all laid-off employees
Restoration of funding to all affected programs
An end to ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œretaliatory and offsettingÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ layoffs
Direct engagement with union leadership before any future restructuring at the federal level
The labor moves comes as several layoffs and reductions in force at the federal level under DHHS have already been rolled back. Earlier this week, a DHHS to reinstate all workers at NIOSHÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Division of Respiratory Health, including employees from the Coal WorkersÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ Health Surveillance Program.
In Pennsylvania, NIOSH workers responsible for certifying respirators were also .
But still, hundreds of other NIOSH employees and workers from the CDC are still without jobs. Meanwhile, the work they did ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” some of which are the product of orders from Congress ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” is going unperformed.
Workers at NIOSH were first put on administrative leave in April through an agency-wide reduction in force. In early May, some were reinstated. Then they were put on leave again after only a few days. Now ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” through the federal court order issued in West Virginia last week ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” at least some workers are returning to the agency permanently.
More cuts in other departments, however, are scheduled to take effect between June and July.
The reductions in force from the federal government have been characterized as tools to reduce wasteful spending and promote efficiency within the organizations. The cuts, however, have led to numerous lawsuits, freezes in critical work, confusion and widespread concern from individuals who rely on that work to do their jobs safely.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThese layoffs are not targeting inefficiency, they are targeting science,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ said Yolanda Jacobs, president of AFGE Local 2883 in Atlanta, where the CDC is based. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œPublic health researchers and frontline scientists are being thrown out of their jobs while the country faces growing environmental, occupational and public health crises.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Per the release from the AFGE, work thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s stopped includes research on toxicology, exposure to certain substances, mine safety, chemical hazards, the impact of workplace oversights and more.
Several of these services that are now going undone are congressionally mandated through the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Several labor unions filed suit on May 14 against the federal government, arguing that since the cuts are stopping work that is required by Congress, they are illegal.
That was the same used in West Virginia, where coal miners against the government due to cuts at NIOSH robbing them of congressionally-mandated protections against black lung disease. The judge in that case issued a temporary injunction ordering the full restoration of staff at NIOSHÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Division of Respiratory Health.
is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.
