The union representing the U.S. Department of Education workers nationwide has alleged secretary Betsy DeVos of violating worker rights.
American Federation of Government Employees, which represents nearly 4,000 education employees, said in a statement on Thursday that DeVos has “waged war” against the department’s own workforce by enforcing policies in contravention of law.
“Betsy DeVos is hellbent on destroying the Department of Education from the inside out,” AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said. “First she trashed our labor contract – eliminating commonsense policies that promote telework and continual learning, preventing employees from resolving workplace grievances or management concerns, and evicting union representatives from the worksite.”
“Now she is pushing through a sweeping reorganization that will result in many employees being displaced or moved into other jobs without the proper training or experience,” Cox added.
The union says that methods used by DeVos are more severe than the executive orders issued by President Donald Trump to easily fire employees and weaken their representation. They were overturned by a court in August.
“When you make it harder for employees to come to work and do their jobs by taking away telework and flex schedules, when you fail to honor labor agreements providing for child care and employee training, and when you attempt to silence employees from reporting discrimination or sexual harassment, you create a toxic climate that is making it very difficult for employees to effectively do their jobs,” Cox said.
The union has sought the intervention of Congress to sets the things right and “save” the department from further harm.
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