{"id":45005,"date":"2020-03-02T20:00:24","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T20:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/02\/sanders-warren-urge-dod-to-save-union-protections\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:42:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:42:27","slug":"sanders-warren-urge-dod-to-save-union-protections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/03\/02\/sanders-warren-urge-dod-to-save-union-protections\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanders, Warren urge DoD to save union protections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A group of liberal senators, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, want the Trump administration not to strip labor rights from civilian Department of Defense employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two \u2014 joined by Sens. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. \u2014 sent a letter <\/a>to Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday urging him to commit not to use the authority <\/a>granted by President Donald Trump\u2019s Jan. 29 memo to exempt DoD civilians from civil service law. Warren led the letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s decision to allow you to bust DoD workers\u2019 unions appears to be motivated purely by an anti-union bias and will harm national security,\u201d wrote the senators. \u201cDoD\u2019s unionized civilian federal workforce provides key support to DoD\u2019s mission and the military forces that carry it out, and stripping away these workers\u2019 rights would result in profound damage to them and to DoD\u2019s national security mission.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter \u2015 the latest Capitol Hill pushback<\/a> to the move \u2015 came days after Esper declined to commit to using the new authority and said that he did not request it. In congressional testimony, Esper said he was still reviewing the recent presidential decision and that he was not involved in the decision by the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\t