Friday, June 06, 2003

Rumsfeld: Unions, We don't need no stinkin' unions! Part II

It's not enough to have crushed Sadaam, now he's taking on John Sweeney and Bobby Harnage as well.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on Government Affairs, Rumsfeld testified in favor of a new administration proposal that would prohibit all 720,000 of the Defense Department's civilian employees from engaging in collective bargaining. The plan passed the House virtually intact last week and is now up for Senate approval.

Rumsfeld argued that the requirements of the war on terrorism make it necessary for the Pentagon to be able to waive clauses of U.S. government code that protect collective-bargaining rights and appeals processes. The bill would allow the defense secretary to prevent employees from filing appeals after being fired and from registering their collective-bargaining organizations. It would also end congressional oversight of Pentagon hiring, firing and personnel practices.
I think we need to get rid of these guys at the first opportunity.