Federal Workers Rally Against DOL Ooutsourcing

"Whose house? Our house!" chanted  more than 100 Federal workers and labor activists crowding the sidewalk in front of the Department of Labor (DOL) at Wednesday's noontime rally protesting the outsourcing of hundreds of DOL jobs. "For the last 30 years, the government has tried to get rid of the DOL, OSHA and other agencies," said AFGE 12 President Alex Bastani. "Now they are trying to comb us out one-by-one but we are not going to let that happen!" Under the outsourcing process, known as A-76, any worker can be affected, but according to Victor Sewell -- a worker in the DOL's Women's Bureau -- most of the positions affected by the current DOL outsourcing are African-American women and employees over the age of 40. "This government will privatize your hopes, your fears, and, by God, privatize your tears," said Metro Council President Jos Williams. "But without you, this government and country would not run," added Williams. "We need a Secretary of Labor that cares about workers and quality jobs," not political appointees' salaries, said AFGE International President John Gage. AFGE and Local 12 have filed a class action grievance against the outsourcing decision and have begun lobbying members of Congress to support legislation to end outsourcing of federal jobs. "This rally is just the first step," Bastani promised.
-Report/photos by Andy Richards