Mazie Hirono: “I thank Senator Brown for his continued leadership in the fight to protect our Federal workforce and for organizing this…”

“I thank Senator Brown for his continued leadership in the fight to protect our Federal workforce and for organizing this time for us to speak on such an important issue. Over the past year and a half, Donald Trump and his administration have launched a concerted attack on Federal workers and the unions that fight on their behalf. There appear to be no lengths to which Donald Trump and the anti-union, moneyed interests who support him will not go to attack and try to eviscerate protections for working people. Here are some examples. In one of his first acts in office, Donald Trump instituted an across-the-board Federal hiring freeze that impacted the work of critical agencies such as the Veterans Administration, the State Department, and the Department of Defense. Then the President appointed Neil Gorsuch to join the anti-worker majority on the Supreme Court. This decision paid off when Justice Gorsuch provided the decisive vote intended to gut public sector unions in Janus v. AFSCME. As a side note, Mark Janus--the public employee who served as the front man for the Koch brothers in the landmark Janus case--has left his job with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and now works for the Koch brothers. Is that a coincidence? I think not. The administration has demoted or reassigned dozens of senior agency leaders tasked with serving our veterans and protecting our environment.…”