From the National Council of Field Labor Locals (NCFLL) of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFL-CIO)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 17, 2003
Contact: Greg Kenefick (410) 263-7134/ Ron Yarman (614) 469-2885

Washington,-The National Council of Field Labor Locals (NCFLL), the union representing 10,000 employees of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) outside of the Washington headquarters, is challenging an order by the Secretary of Labor to censor the union’s publication because political appointees within the Department objected to the union’s characterization of Bush Administration policies affecting federal workers.

“We are taking the matter to arbitration and we’re confident that we’ll win,” declared Council President Ron Yarman. “We believe that an impartial third party will agree with us that this is 2003 and not 1984. However, we’re outraged that even after an arbitrator rules in our favor, the DOL won’t incur any meaningful penalties for muzzling free speech and fair comment by the union.”

The December edition of the NCFLL’s quarterly publication, “The Courier,” contains an article describing White House orders to outsource some 125,000 federal jobs. A cartoon on the same page lampoons President Bush for his decision to cut the 2003 federal pay increase. DOL sited both items in its order banning distribution of the publication through the Department’s inter-office mail.

The collective bargaining agreement between NCFLL and DOL grants the union the right to distribute printed material to the bargaining unit through inter-office mail unless the material is “libelous or scurrilous.”

The union is currently distributing the publication through the mail and via its website (ncfll.org).

The NCFLL’s membership includes federal OSHA and mine inspectors, wage and hour enforcement personnel, employees of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Employment Training Administration and the Employment Standards Administration. NCFLL members are inspectors, investigators, economists, auditors, program analysts, hygienists, technicians and support personnel. NCFLL is a bargaining council of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the union which had filed for representation rights for employees of the Transportation Security Administration earlier this year. Authorities at the Department of Transportation have refused to recognize that filing.