Don't Cut Corners On Public Safety
By Mike Hersh, Sep 25, 2002
We spare no expense for national defense. In matters of life and death, victory or defeat, there is no second best. There's winning and survival or losing all.
The Republicans understand we cannot cut corners on our national security when it comes to weapons programs, but they seem to forget the same holds true for the personnel we rely on for national defense and public safety.
We need the best people to actually do the job and keep us safe. We cannot protect ourselves on the cheap, and it would be foolish to try by shortchanging our public safety or "homeland security."
Republicans can't seem to understand that we need the best military personnel and the best non-military workforce to protect us from terrorist attack and infiltration, sabotage of our food and water supply, and other horrors. Act now to demand we get and keep the best people for this critical duty.
Either we want the best public servants we can get guarding our safety, or we don't. If we want the best, we have to pay for the best -- that's the free market system. To keep the best people working to keep us safe, we have to respect and compensate them as befitting their critical life and death duties.
Democrats in Congress and most voters understand this. Bush and the Republicans do not. Or else they have other priorities placing partisan politics over our national security. I want to give Republicans the benefit of the doubt, but they are making it more and more difficult to avoid impugning their motives.
Cutting corners and driving away the best public servants makes no sense, but that is the current Republican plan. Why? Because unions tend to support Democrats. Rather than sponsor policies which will appeal to working families, Republicans are trying to play politics with the rights federal workers earned through years of dedicated service. Don't let them get away with it!
If we want the best protecting us, and we certainly do, we must treat them like the best. We must offer these important workers all the rights and respect they have earned. Otherwise, we will not attract and retain the high quality people we need to perform these critical tasks. Failure to respect those we trust to protect us against attack and infiltration will lead to fatal failures.
Fax your senators now! Click here, or visit this site and use the information provided below to convince your Senators to protect America by respecting the key people we depend on, by protecting federal workers' rights: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/homeland2/xb8wxzqk7m,
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peoplepower@aflcio.org writes:
This week the U.S. Senate will vote on legislation to create a new Department of Homeland Security with more than 170,000 federal workers. These workers are heroes every day, protecting our nation and responding to emergencies. In an outrageous move, President George W. Bush says he will veto the legislation unless it strips basic rights from the workers--and Senate Republican leaders agree.
Fax your senators now to help these workers by clicking here, or continue reading by visiting this website:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/homeland2/xb8wxzqk7m.
The stubborn intransigence of Republican leaders and the Bush administration is so unheard of that most people watching the news on this issue don't understand why the bill hasn't passed yet. According to reports, opponents appear to be willing to KILL the legislation rather than let it pass with worker protections. They seem to disrespect workers so much they're willing to let their own legislation fail.
America's homeland security workers deserve better. They deserve the best. Without these protections for workers, the new department could be returned to the old days, when government workers were hired and fired based upon political party membership--or worse. Please take one minute to honor them by telling your senators to do the right thing: Support basic workers' rights for homeland security workers. Send your fax by clicking here or by visiting this link:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/homeland2/xb8wxzqk7m
Visit our website by clicking here or using the address below to tell your friends, family and coworkers about this.
http://www.unionvoice.org/join-forward.html?domain=wfean&r=T7aXqqd1zp16
Sign up for Working Families e-Activist Network by clicking here or visiting this website:
http://www.unionvoice.org/wfean/join.html?r=T7aXqqd1zp16E
Click here or visit the site below for more information from your union, online activism and benefits: http://www.unionvoice.org/wfn/join.html
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