Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-639-6405/202-374-6491
[email protected]
WASHINGTON – The American Federation of Government Employees proudly supports the appointment of AFGE National Vice President Cheryl Eliano to serve on the Defense Business Board.
Eliano is one of 18 individuals asked to serve on the Defense Business Board in fiscal 2022. It’s the first time a union representative has ever served on the panel, which provides the Secretary of Defense and other senior leaders with independent advice on best business practices for application by the department.
“I am proud to be the first and only union representative ever asked to serve on the Defense Business Board,” Eliano said. “The Defense Business Board is a strategic partner in helping the Department of Defense improve its business practices, and ensuring that the voice of rank-and-file workers is included in those discussions will be an asset. I look forward to working with the other board members to develop proposals that further the interests of DoD’s mission, its employees, and the public.”
AFGE has advocated for many years for a position on the Defense Business Board in recognition of the 300,000 civilian employees the union represents in the Department of Defense. AFGE most recently renewed this request in an April 5 letter to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.
Eliano serves as National Vice President for AFGE’s 10th District, which represents more than 40,000 federal employees in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Panama, and Texas. She was first elected to the position in May 2014 and was reelected in 2017 and again in 2020. She previously served for more than 11 years as president of AFGE Local 1920, which represents more than 5,700 Army civilian employees at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.
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