Federal employees’ commitment to service does not stop
As a retired federal employee, I continue to be active with the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that looks to support better government through advocacy for active and retired federal employees on workplace issues and benefits.
In Delaware, we are lucky to have five very active chapters that work to support federal employees – active and retired. We have chapters in Wilmington, Newark, Dover, coastal Sussex County and western Sussex County.
People look to demean and attack public-sector employees without understanding that many of the services we enjoy are provided by public-sector and federal employees without regard to political views. These individuals inspect our food, teach children, deliver mail, provide for safety in many areas and collectively provide a positive impact on daily living.
Right now, federal employees are being disrespected by many, and many have been fired without regard to their service, benefit rights or proper procedure. There are others who do not know if they will be paid while being mandated to work as essential employees. Look around; it might be someone in your family.
The military continues to work, law enforcement continues to work, inspectors in food and safety continue to work. The pictures of agents in the field are distorted. How many of us know rotten law enforcement or food inspectors? It is the spectacular and exceptional that makes the news. The aim is to demean a civil service workforce that since the 1880 enactment of legislation for a fair and equitable workforce has looked to serve the American people without regard to politics or administration.
As the president of the Delaware NARFE, I meet active employees protecting our parks, USDA inspectors in Georgetown protecting our food, census field agents ensuring we have good information to support a strong business community, Coast Guard that inspect the ships coming into Delaware Bay. I could go on.
In this time when public-sector employees are under unfair attack, we need to continue to protect public-sector and federal employees from the many hostile acts that are unwarranted.
If you are an active or retired federal employee, go to www.narfe.org and join. Better yet, join us in Delaware at www.narfe-de.org.
If you want to know, go to www.narfe.org or ourpublicservice.org.
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