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Union bosses selling out their membership may not qualify as earth-shattering news. But it’s still worth asking why the leadership of a union representing government employees thinks it’s in the interest of its members to embrace the fiercest partisan critique of the party that currently holds the White House and majorities in both chambers of Congress. The American Federation of Government Employees, an AFL-CIO affiliate, posted on its website this week: On Saturday Oct. 18, millions of Americans frustrated with the Trump administration’s authoritarian policies and actions will take to the streets in a mass protest intended to replicate the successful No Kings protest this summer. The protest movement has taken on new urgency with the government shutdown that began Oct. 1. Shutting down the government is another authoritarian power grab by this administration, which has threatened to lay off mass numbers of furloughed federal workers as part of an ongoing quest to gut federal programs and services the administration finds
objectionable. Have AFGE bosses even bothered to learn that Republicans are the ones who keep voting to reopen the shuttered parts of government while Democrats are the ones voting to keep them closed? Before agreeing to reopen, Democrats are demanding massive ObamaCare subsidies—essentially irrelevant to AFGE members, who enjoy separate coverage as government workers. For their irresponsible representation, what are the union bosses hoping to get in return from leading Democrats? The union screed continues, essentially bolstering a Democratic effort that is putting the jobs of AFGE members in jeopardy: AFGE is calling on all our members to participate in one of the more than 1,650 events that have been planned across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and internationally.
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