WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2012 – American Federation of Government Employees National President John Gage today issued the following statement in response to the congressional hearing on federal employees’ retirement security before the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on the federal workforce, U.S. Postal Service and labor policy:
“Congress created the Federal Employees Retirement System in the mid-1980s to mirror leading private sector practices. The vast majority of a federal employee’s retirement income comes from personal investments in the government’s 401(k) plan and mandatory payments into Social Security. Federal employees also receive a very modest pension that provides an average of $939 a month when they retire. As NARFE Director of Retirement Benefit Services David Snell so eloquently stated in his testimony before the subcommittee, ‘federal employees are not retiring rich.’
“Despite what Subcommittee Chairman Dennis Ross would lead one to believe, the FERS retirement system is fully funded and poses no additional tax burden on the American public. Yet the congressman and others want to cut federal employees’ wages so more of their take-home pay goes into this fully funded system. That’s not only unnecessary, it’s downright unfair.
“Congressman Ross is right about one thing – the American public is outraged. They’re outraged by lawmakers who are more worried about protecting their millionaire and billionaire campaign donors than creating jobs for the millions of unemployed workers.”
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 625,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.
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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees
Unhappy with APWU? Unhappy with the contract? Unhappy with the level of representation you’re getting? Unhappy with loss of 40 hour jobs?
OCCUPY APWU at the 2012 Convention in Los Angeles (August 20-24) at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel (404 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA)
OTHERWISE:
Shut up and keeping paying dem dues! And, by the way…stay in line all you lemmings!
ALL FEDERAL EMPLOYEES UNDER FERS SHOULD BE CONTACTING THEIR CONGRESSPERSON, BOTH SENATORS, AND THE WHITE HOUSE REGARDING THIS GRAVE MATTER OF DESTROYING OUR FERS RETIREMENT BENEFITS. ALL FERS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ARE ABOUT TO LOSE HALF OF THEIR RETIREMENT BENEFITS. ACT NOW, OR LET THEM TAKE HALF OF YOUR RETIREMENT PROMISED FROM THE CREATION OF FERS!!!!!!! DO NOT LET THESE COWARDLY AND CRIMINAL REPUBLICAN AND TEA PARTY LAWMAKING LIARS STEAL YOUR RETIREMENT!!!! IF YOU DON’T ACT NOW, YOU WILL HAVE NO RETIREMENT LEFT, AND WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO RETIRE!!!! LASTLY, VOTE OUT ALL THESE COWARDLY,THIEVING REPUBLICANS AND TEA PARTIERS THAT ARE STEALING YOUR PAY, BENEFITS, AND RETIREMENT!!! THOSE OF YOU THAT VOTED THEM IN AND CONTINUE TO KEEP THEM IN OFFICE……WAKE UP!!!!!……..YOU ARE CUTTING YOUR OWN THROAT!!!!!!