Representative Sheila Cherfilus McCormick (D-FL) issued a statement condemning President Donald Trump's latest executive order terminating collective bargaining with federal workers' unions involved in national security work. She said she would "always stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in labor and defend their fundamental rights."
President Trump signed the order on Thursday, with little coverage, according to NBC. The network noted that the affected unions include those representing workers in the Departments of State, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Justice, and Commerce, as well as the border protection units in Homeland Security.
Both NBC and the White House fact sheet concerning the order claim that Trump is within his authority to terminate collective bargaining via the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA).
The Trump White House's rationale includes the following: "Protecting America's national security is a core constitutional duty, and President Trump refuses to let union obstruction interfere with his efforts to protect Americans and our national interests."
Rep. Cherfilus McCormick, however, begged to differ.
"This Executive Order strips protections from the hard-working men and women who care for our veterans, keep our communities safe, ensure our national security, and provide other essential services that Florida families depend on," the Florida Congresswoman said in her statement, adding, "These public servants give their everything to make sure that our government functions and meets our communities' most basic needs."
Moreover, Rep. Cherfilus McCormick described how her district is "home to over 9,000 federal workers — from the nurses at the West Palm Beach VA helping our warriors recover when they come home from war to those at the Social Security Administration ensuring our seniors retire with dignity."
"Collective bargaining rights strengthen America's workforce. I'll always stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in labor and defend their fundamental rights," Cherfilus McCormick concluded.
Over on the other side of the aisle, Representative Scott Franklin (R-FL) recently reintroduced the Taxpayer-Funded Union Time Transparency Act, which requires agencies to report the total cost of official time, its purpose, individual employee data related to union activity, compensation for union-related work records, travel costs, monetary value of government property provided to unions, reimbursements, and yearly comparisons of official time use.
