FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2001
February 13, 2001
Magda Lynn Seymour
Diane S. Witiak
(202) 639-6419
Diane S. Witiak
(202) 639-6419
AFGE Praises Legislation to Raise the Retirement Age for Federal Fire Fighters
“While enactment of this technical change would merely bring the retirement age for federal fire fighters in line with federal law enforcement officers, the legislation has the strong support of this union’s fire fighters,” noted Harnage. “This legislation would be fair to federal fire fighters—since it would not change the minimum age to retire with full benefits—without in any way compromising the federal government’s fire fighting capacity since fire fighters must annually meet stringent medical standards.”
“At a time when the federal government’s fire fighting capability is being sorely tested, it is imperative that we make it possible for agencies to retain experienced, qualified federal fire fighters by promptly enacting the Gallegly-Feinstein legislation,” concluded Harnage. “Finally, it should be noted that this legislation would not require any additional spending.”
The American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, is the largest union for government employees, representing 600,000 federal workers in the United States and overseas, as well as employees of the District of Columbia. AFGE represents over 4,000 federal fire fighters. For more information about AFGE, go to www.afge.org.
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