Government affairs

Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN) is preparing to introduce the Promote Accountability and Government Efficiency (PAGE) Act, a proposal that calls for taking away newly hired federal employees’ union representation and grant political appointees overseeing federal agencies the power to terminate, demote and discipline workers’ for “good reason, bad reason, or no reason.”

The measure specifically calls for:

• Making new federal employees “at will” workers.
• Allowing agency heads to immediately suspend an employee without pay or appeal.
• Subjecting pay raises to an arbitrary new formula that is still being developed.
• Denying retirement benefits to anyone under investigation for a felony (including retirees).
• Allowing agency heads to demote career executives and reduce their pay without cause.
• Preventing union representation on the worksite.

Before Rokita formally introduces the measure, he is seeking other members of Congress to add their names as co-sponsor of the bill. NALC is urging letter carriers to contact their House members and urge them to oppose the PAGE Act.

Please call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, ask for your representative, and ask him or her to reject the PAGE Act.