WHAT A UNION THAT AFGE IS

This past summer we posted a few articles about how hypocritical it is for a national union officer to fire any employee for other than just cause (or something like it) and without appeal rights. Sadly, we failed to mention that AFGE’s Constitution actually does not allow such arbitrary terminations.  It states in Article IX that, ”The National President may discharge employees other than elected officers only for just cause. If a discharged employee is covered by a collective bargaining agreement or contract, he or she shall have such grievance rights as are provided in that agreement. The NEC shall establish a grievance procedure for all other full-time employees not covered by contract.” AFGE’s protection of even those who have left the bargaining unit or are otherwise not in it is something all unions should copy. Hats off to AFGE for being union to the core rather than adopting the practices of or profit business leaders who often thrive on exterminating vulnerable employees no matter how long their service to the organization. We love it when a union sticks to core collective bargaining values for all its employees.