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The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal
employee union representing some 600,000 federal and D.C. government workers
nationwide and overseas. Workers in virtually all functions of government
at every federal agency depend upon AFGE for legal representation, legislative
advocacy, technical expertise and informational services.
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AFGE believes that all unions should belong to the house of labor and has
been nationally affiliated with the AFL-CIO since AFGE was founded in 1932.
At AFGE's national convention in 1997, the delegates took the importance
of affiliation one step further, voting for each of its 1,100 locals to
affiliate with their AFL-CIO state federations. This makes AFGE one of the
few nationally affiliated unions to have all of its locals affiliated at
the state level. National President Bobby L. Harnage, National Secretary-Treasurer
Rita R. Mason and Women's Director Kitty Peddicord are active participants
in the AFL-CIO, working to enhance and energize the labor movement.
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AFGE takes seriously its responsibility to help provide good government
services, while ensuring that government workers are treated fairly and
with dignity. The union supports a meaningful transformation of the federal
workplace to improve the way services and benefits are delivered to the
American public.
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President Bobby L. Harnage serves as a member of the National Partnership
Council, created by the Clinton Administration to carry out Executive Order
12871, aimed at reinventing government. AFGE believes real government reinvention
cannot occur without full partnership with government employees and their
unions. AFGE is committed to protecting and enhancing the rights of government
workers and the people who rely upon their services.
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As a labor union, AFGE is in a unique position because it is not currently
afforded the same full scope collective bargaining rights as workers in
the private sector. For this reason in addition to negotiating working conditions
at the bargaining table, AFGE coordinates a full-scale legislative and political
action program to monitor issues that impact the government workforce. When
Congress debates funding of vital government programs administered to the
public by government workers or tackles employee health care issues, AFGE
is on the scene representing its members.
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AFGE represents government workers who are the vital threads of the fabric
of American life. Government employees inspect the food we eat and the places
we work, they protect citizens from the illicit flow of drugs, maintain
the safety of our nation's borders, care for our nation's veterans, serve
as a vital link to Social Security recipients, keep the national defense
systems prepared for any danger and much, much more. AFGE is proud to make
America work.
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The union is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and divided into 12 geographical
districts consisting of some 1,100 locals. Over one-half of AFGE's members
are consolidated into agency-wide bargaining units. Agencies with the highest
concentration of union membership include the Department of Defense, the
Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and the
Department of Justice.
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Of the 1.75 million people employed by the federal government, only 250,000
are based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The majority work
in federal offices across the nation as mechanics, lawyers, correctional
officers, environmentalists, nurses, mine inspectors and more. The range
of jobs performed by both D.C. and federal government employees is impressive--and
so is their work.
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