Pelosi Remarks During Federal Worker Press Event on White House Assault on Employees’ Rights

Washington, D.C. – The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) organized a press event against the Administration's efforts to undermine federal employee unions and prevent workers from blowing the whistle on mismanagement and other workplace abuses. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. Thank you, Mr. President, David Cox of AFGE. Let's hear it for your President. It's always a privilege to be at the AFGE. Now, that we are all part of this family with the Fed Up? Rise Up! Rally. Are you Fed Up?

Crowd. Yeah!

Speaker Pelosi. Will you Rise Up?

Crowd. Yeah!

Speaker Pelosi. All right, here we go. Every day, your dedication lift us all – lifts all Americans. As the distinguished President of AFL-CIO said, ‘in so many ways, helping the American people have a government work for them.' In order to – and wasn't it great to hear Richard Trumka?

[Applause]

Okay, again.

[Applause]

You're champions of labor. And, as all the people are saying, it is about the labor movement. It's about the labor movement, which through the middle class in our country, we all say, that the middle class has a union label on it, and that middle class is the backbone of our democracy. So, I thank you and Lee Saunders and President Cox and President Trumka and President Alma Lee. I thank –

[Applause]

Thank you, Alma Lee, for your patriotism. For your patriotism.

But, the Trump Administration cannot be bothered to fight for our tireless public servants.

Instead, you face unprecedented ‘if you do, we do' – an unprecedent assault from the GOP Administration determined to undermine official time, recklessly re-organize federal agencies, roll back due process rights and weaken your sacred right to collective bargaining.

We must remain vigilant and demand protection and respect from – professionalism and nonpartisanship in the nature of our civil service.

This Administration does not believe in governance. They don't believe in governance. We don't want any more government than we need, but we want the government that we do need to meet the needs of the American people.

So, don't take it personally, when they make an assault on you. They don't believe in governance. They don't believe in science. So, they don't know, nor do they care, to govern. And, that is a problem for our country.

So, in your fight, AFGE and others who are here, Lee Saunders, my friend, from AFSCME.

We're in a big fight for the culture of America; for what we are as a nation – that we are – a sense of community, that we care for each other and that we recognize the role of government in that, and that we respect the public service employees who are engaged in meeting the needs of the American people.

With the help of the brothers and sisters of AFGE, AFSCME, and others who are here, we'll ensure America's middle class continues to have a label ‘union' on it.

Thank you. Thank you.

Here's the thing, we passed a bill, raised the minimum wage and sent it over to the Senate: ‘No.'

We passed a bill: equal pay for equal work: ‘No.'

But, no organization, no institution has done more for equal pay for equal work than the labor movement.

[Applause]

So, thank you for that. We need your voices, your energy, your activism, and your leadership.

So, on behalf of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, I bring greetings to you, I bring thanks to you and I bring commitment to you that we're all in this together, cause we're fed up and we're rising up.

Thank you.