Union Blasts DoD Action to Slash One-Fourth of Workforce

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 250,000 civilian employees within the Department of Defense, is strongly opposed to the Pentagon's plan to slash headquarters funding and staffing by 25%.

The cuts were spelled out in an Aug. 24 memorandum to DoD leaders from Defense Deputy Secretary Robert Work that has just been made public.

"We strongly oppose the Department of Defense's plan to slash its headquarters funding by 25 percent through fiscal 2020," AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said. "These arbitrary staffing cuts will affect many of our members who are considered headquarters employees, while likely failing to enforce cuts in the more expensive contractor workforce in headquarters."

DoD previously ordered a 20% cut in headquarters funding, but Work's memo claims the Pentagon needs additional savings to fund higher priority requirements.

AFGE opposes all across-the-board staffing cuts, since by their very nature they are carried out indiscriminately, without regard to how vital work will continue to be performed with fewer staff.

"Even more distressing, these so-called headquarters cuts could serve as a terrible precedent for arbitrary cuts to the civilian workforce, which is the least costly of the department's three workforces but the one that is already scheduled to be cut the most through 2019," Cox said.

The Army already is planning to slash the civilian workforce by 30% at 30 installations nationwide.

"Who will perform the work when a fourth or more of the workforce is obliterated? If DoD is intent on slashing personnel, then it needs to start deciding what work simply cannot be performed any longer and cut staff accordingly," Cox said. "If cutting expenses is the number one priority, then the first place DoD should target is the vast bureaucracy of contractor personnel who cost more than federal workers and are less accountable to taxpayers."

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

Related Links

http://www.afge.org

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