Democrats Call For Study of Declining Federal-Worker Morale

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Three Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have asked the Government Accountability Office to examine recent declines in federal-worker morale and how to reverse the trend, reports The Washington Post. Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who is the panel’s ranking member, along with Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), said in a letter to the GAO last week that pay freezes and furloughs caused by across-the-board budget cuts and last year’s government shutdown have taken a toll on the federal workforce. “I am confident that the study’s results will show what federal workers already know: that the constant attacks on the value of their work, their job security, pay and benefits has lowered their morale,” said AFSCME Council 26 Executive Director Carl Goldman. “We need to keep fighting back, and getting the truth out is an important part of our struggle.”