Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to amendment No. 56, which would require a report that would be prejudicial to the rights and interests of Federal employees by calling into question something called official time. Official time is a system that we, Congress, established in law almost 40 years ago to ensure that all employees entitled to union representation receive it, regardless if they are in the union or not. Through official time, Federal employees who volunteer as union representatives spend time on what they call representational activities, working with employers and managers to resolve disputes, to resolve disputes, improvements in the workplace that benefit all employees, one of which--and many people consider it the highest--is for safety issues, so they can walk around, they can do the very inspections that save lives and save people from injury instead of waiting for it to happen and reacting before somebody gets hurt or dies on the job. Simply put, let's call it what it is. This is an attack on official time, and my colleagues want to gut public sector unions. Call it what it is. The report that this amendment requires would only tally the cost of official time, ignoring many benefits. That official time provides for management as well as workers, their safety, and their productivity. Workers have the right to have a voice on the job. They have that right. That is exactly what the official time provides for.…”