FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2020
October 20, 2020
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-639-6405/202-374-6491
[email protected]
Head of Largest Federal Employee Union Urges Change in Leadership to Restore Public’s Trust in Government
AFGE leader says Americans deserve president who will “give us the facts and tell us the truth”
WASHINGTON – The head of the largest union representing federal and D.C. government workers is urging Americans to restore their trust in government by replacing the person in charge this November.
In an op-ed published online today in The Hill, American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley writes that President Trump’s politicization of the work America’s civil service employees perform every day on behalf of the country has eroded the public’s trust in government.
“Because under President Trump, routine tasks like forecasting the weather have become the subject of political drama. Agencies doing basic research to help American farmers have been relocated and gutted for producing scientific results the president chooses not to believe. And the tragic stories of federal workers on the front lines of the pandemic have been repeatedly denied by top agency officials,” Kelley writes.
As a result, the United States is lagging embarrassingly behind other countries in dealing with the deadly coronavirus pandemic as President Trump has downplayed the threat of the virus, undermined the government’s scientific experts, and failed to bring his own party to the table to negotiate another round of desperately needed relief.
“We have a federal government that mirrors our country – full of proud Americans ready to overcome the biggest challenges of this generation and the next. We can tackle this pandemic and beat it, together. The only thing that’s missing is leadership,” Kelley writes.
“This pandemic has shown us all the importance of leadership – of having a government we can rely on, that’s led by people we can trust, who will give us the facts and tell us the truth so we can make informed decisions in our own lives. This president hasn’t lived up to that obligation, but Joe Biden will.”
###
For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center.
Follow us on:
