Resource Roundup — Public Servants
Government bureaucracy often gets a bad rap. We are prone to dismissing it in the manner of Goldilocks tasting porridges. It’s too this. It’s not enough that. It’s rarely just right. Yet, the government is not a monolith. It has a face, millions of them, in fact — public servants who strive each day for a better America. We may find these federal employees making sure that our workplaces are safe or that the elderly age in dignity. Others push forward the frontiers of medicine or make certain that the food we eat and air we breathe are free of toxins. It’s work that might pass unnoticed — until those who do it are gone.
And yet despite their crucial role, federal employees have found themselves the target of baseless attacks that call into question the basic responsibilities of government to its citizens. This month’s Resource Roundup aims to shine a light on who federal workers are, what they do, and the challenges they are experiencing. We start off with a profile in the Washington Post of a Department of Labor employee who went above and beyond to revolutionize mine safety. Then, read reporting by the American Prospect on the damaging effects of the termination of TSA employees’ collective bargaining agreement on the labor movement. In our third featured piece, NBC News looked into the effects that mass layoffs of federal workers are having on veterans. And finally, an increasing number of employers, including the federal government, are calling workers back to the office. Read commentary from The Century Foundation about the positive effects remote work has for mothers.
The Washington Post | The Canary: Michael Lewis on Chris Mark of the Department of Labor
Few go into public service for fame. Even those whose work improves the lives and livelihoods of many might pass their career unsung. Writing for the Washington Post, Michael Lewis shines a spotlight on Chris Mark, a long-serving Department of Labor employee whose tenacity led to mine safety improvements that protect miners from cave-ins that were once all-too-common. His efforts are but one example of the importance of federal workers in setting the bar for health and safety, so that workers don’t risk tragedy in the workplace.
Read the full series, profiling eight public servants whose quiet, yet vital, work responds to the needs of those who call the US home.
The American Prospect | Trump Rips Up the Government’s Agreement With Its Workers
The mass firing of striking air traffic controllers during the Reagan Administration dealt a blow to organized labor from which, some argue, the movement still hasn’t recovered. The recent decision to declare the collective bargaining agreement of 45,000 TSA screeners void echoes worryingly of past anti-union federal actions.
The American Prospect lays out how a unilateral decision to void workers’ labor contract, combined with broad efforts to kneecap federal labor protections and enforcement, threatens both private and public sector unions.
NBC News | Mass federal layoffs deliver a gutting one-two punch to America’s veterans
After serving in uniform, many veterans — and their spouses — continue their service to the country as federal civilian employees. Because of this, the federal government is the single largest employer of veterans, and recent layoffs have hit them especially hard.
NBC News spoke with veterans who have been affected, as well as advocates, highlighting the difficult situation many are facing.
The Century Foundation | Telework Has Helped Moms Stay in the Labor Force
The federal government and other major employers have moved aggressively in recent months to bring employees back into the office. However, the end of telework combined with the lack of affordable child care puts parents, especially mothers, in a position where they have to juggle going into the office with caregiving responsibilities.
The Century Foundation has illustrated the stakes of return to work for mothers.
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