FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2004
November 15, 2004
Adele Stan
(202) 639-6448
Enid Doggett
(202) 639-6419
(202) 639-6448
Enid Doggett
(202) 639-6419
Union Objects to Installation of Video Equipment in Every Government Vehicle
WASHINGTON, D.C.—When Mark Roth, general counsel of the American Federation of Employees (AFGE), learned that members of the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH) were considering installing video cameras in federal vehicles to ensure seatbelt use by public employees, he was astonished.
“This proposal redefines the word ‘absurd’,” Roth told Federal Human Resources Week. “It sounds like an episode of ‘Pimp My Ride,’” he asserted, referring to the popular MTV show in which the beat-up cars of contestants are fitted with outrageous accoutrements.
“This week, Congress is supposed to pass legislation to keep the U.S. from defaulting on its $7 trillion national debt,” Roth later explained. “At the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a spending freeze has left officers in lurch when trying to fill the tanks of their official vehicles, as their government gas cards were declined for lack of payment. But we’ve got millions for high-tech gadgets? I’m sure the American taxpayer will be greatly amused.”
“This proposal redefines the word ‘absurd’,” Roth told Federal Human Resources Week. “It sounds like an episode of ‘Pimp My Ride,’” he asserted, referring to the popular MTV show in which the beat-up cars of contestants are fitted with outrageous accoutrements.
“This week, Congress is supposed to pass legislation to keep the U.S. from defaulting on its $7 trillion national debt,” Roth later explained. “At the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a spending freeze has left officers in lurch when trying to fill the tanks of their official vehicles, as their government gas cards were declined for lack of payment. But we’ve got millions for high-tech gadgets? I’m sure the American taxpayer will be greatly amused.”
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