WASHINGTON—J. David Cox Sr., national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, today issued the following statement in reaction to the Department of Defense’s plan to furlough civilian federal employees.

“The administration’s latest furlough announcement, 11 days for Department of Defense civilians, is absolutely outrageous. It is well-known that the Army spent $2.5 billion more on service contracts than it was allowed under law, a sum that could have been, and more important, should have been used to offset furloughs not only in the Army, but in the rest of DOD as well.

“The administration’s announcement is a decision to undermine our nation’s military readiness. It is a decision to reduce productivity and raise, not lower, costs in the Department. It is also a decision to ignore the efforts put forth by numerous DOD components and agencies to devise methods for absorbing sequestration cuts without causing the negative consequences of furloughs.

“The Defense Department’s decision is a slap in the face to its civilian workforce, most of whom live paycheck-to-paycheck, and are barely able to pay their bills without the additional challenge of furloughs. DOD’s workforce is not only the government’s largest, it also includes the largest number of hourly and low-paid federal workers. Many earn less than $12 per hour. Furloughs of 11 days will amount to a pay cut of 20 percent for the remainder of the year, and combined with three years of frozen pay levels, these cuts will send many into dire straits.

“The administration’s decision to impose such enormous economic pain on its own workforce, while continuing to lavish billions in new and unnecessary spending on wealthy contractors, is utterly shameful.”

National Nurses Week is a time to recognize the outstanding work that nurses perform in healthcare settings throughout the world. The American Federation of Government Employees is honored to represent thousands of federal nurses in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense and the Bureau of Prisons. As a former registered nurse with the VA, I have seen firsthand the dedication and commitment to their jobs that federal nurses display. They care for our nation’s heroes and ensure that all patients receive the highest quality of care – often in difficult or even dangerous environments. Nurses worldwide deserve our gratitude and appreciation, not just during National Nurses Week but every day of the year.

"The Transportation Security Administration and the Homeland Security Department cannot dismiss the grave security concerns of 400,000 people on the front lines of U.S. aviation, including TSA’s own Transportation Security Officers and Air Marshals," the coalition asserted. The coalition also includes flight attendants, gate agents, pilots, law enforcement and passengers.

The petition makes five critical points:

-- Permitting knives in the cabin is an unnecessary risk to the traveling public and violates the Administrator’s duty—as set out by Congress. A TSA-approved knife could be used to stab or kill a passenger, crew member, federal air marshal, gate agent or TSA Security Officer by a terrorist, mentally ill person or drug or alcohol-impaired passenger. A TSA-approved a knife could be used to hijack a plane.

-- It would be irresponsible to relax the TSA's existing policy on knives when virtually every organization representing those directly affected by the change adamantly opposes it on safety and security grounds.

-- Federal regulations currently ban all weapons on airplanes and in airport secure areas, and a knife is a weapon.

-- TSA's argument for the change is false. TSA says the change would bring the US in line with the international standard for knives. There is no international standard for knives: Canada, Israel and Taiwan – to name a few – ban knives on planes.

-- One of the nation’s foremost experts on knives provides testimony stating that with many folding knives the only way to be certain whether its blade locks is to open the knife. However, TSA has instructed its Officers to screen knives in only a closed position. Consequently, knives that lock will inevitably wind up on airport concourses and aircraft cabins. Should TSA change its directive and allow TSA’s officer to directly examine knives at security checkpoints, the Officers would have to devote substantially more time to screening knives and security lines would slow.

The planned rule change is arbitrary and capricious and to implement it without using the federal rulemaking procedure would be unlawful. If TSA moves forward with this dangerous change, the petitioners reserve the right to challenge TSA in federal court.

Without warning, TSA announced in March it would allow certain knives (with blades up to 2.36 inches long) through security and into the passenger cabin starting April 25.

Following massive opposition from those on the frontlines of aviation and national security concerns highlighted by the April 15 Boston terrorist bombings, TSA announced April 22 it would temporarily postpone the new knife policy. It has not said it would reconsider the policy shift.

The Coalition’s legal filing is adamant: No Knives on Planes Ever Again.

The organizations signing the petition are:

- The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (flight attendants at 20 airlines, including United and US Airways)

- The American Federation of Government Employees (TSA Security Officers)

- The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (American Airlines flight attendants)

- The Allied Pilots Association (American Airlines pilots)

- The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (including the Federal Air Marshals) - FlyersRights.org (largest airline passenger organization)

- - The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (largest aviation union, including flight attendants and gate agents)

- The Teamsters - (thousands of aviation workers including pilots at Frontier, Horizon, Allegiant along with pilots and flight attendants at Republic, Net Jets, Sun Country, Trans States and World Airways)

- The Transport Workers Union (thousands of aviation workers including Southwest flight attendants)

View the full text of the petition, which is also posted on www.NoKnivesOnPlanes.com.

The legal petition is supported by expert testimony from:

John Bonner – Assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Served with the FBI including providing counterterrorism training to the Iraqi police and military in Baghdad and Fallujah, Iraq. His long list of security credentials includes Instructor at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., certified as a Law Enforcement Officer by the State of Florida, and participation in FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Bernard Levine – Recognized as one of the world’s leading knife experts with more than four decades of experience. His books include four editions of the standard reference work in the field of knives and knife identification, as well as Pocketknives, a Collector's Guide and Identifying Pocketknives. His business website is www.knife-expert.com.

Jon Adler - Federal Law Enforcement Officer Association National President, decorated officer, certified tactical instructor, an Executive board member of the DHS Federal Law Enforcement Advisory Board, and a First Responder at Ground Zero on 9/11.

Paul Hudson – President of FlyersRights.org, aviation attorney, Member of FAA Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee. Formerly Executive Director of Aviation Consumer Action Project, FAA/TSA Aviation Security Advisory Committees, and president of Families of Pan Am 103/Lockerbie among several other public policy committees and published author on passenger aviation security.

"This is absolutely unbelievable. We are truly at a loss as to why the VA continues to reward those in its leadership ranks who clearly are not operating in the best interest of our veterans. The recent VA Office of Inspector General report shows us that leaders within the Pittsburgh VA system, and Director Moreland, knew of the Legionella problem early on and for more than a year didn't take all of the necessary actions to keep our veterans and hospital employees safe. Why should Mr. Moreland be rewarded for mismanagement?

"We've seen this time and time again at the VA; front-line employees are forced to do more with less, while agency executives are pulling in bonuses despite mismanagement, retaliation and intimidation of employees under their watch.

"The Legionnaires' outbreak is a serious issue and is linked to the death of five of our nation's heroes. Yet, it didn't occur to VA leadership that this isn't the right time to reward folks who seem to have dropped the ball having been the subject of intense scrutiny by Congressional oversight committees and the VA's own Inspector General. This is a kick in the teeth to the victims' families and hospital employees who were kept in the dark.

"AFGE renews its call for the removal of Mr. Moreland and urges the VA to take a serious look at its leadership team. As the agency providing world-class care to our vets, we cannot afford to have careerists in leadership positions that lack the skills needed to positively impact the VA workforce and advance the mission of the agency."

In an April 30 letter to Secretary Hagel, President Cox said he was “surprised and disappointed” that Hagel continues to insist that nearly all DoD civilian employees be furloughed across the board, even though some components are able to absorb the budget cuts required under sequestration without furloughing employees.

“Such an arbitrary approach neither promotes national security nor fairness,” Cox wrote.

On April 24, 126 House members from both parties sent a letter to Hagel, urging him to review the Pentagon’s plans to furlough nearly every civilian employee for 14 days, systematically fire temporary and term employees, and freeze new employee hiring.

In the letter, the lawmakers highlighted the injustice of applying civilian furloughs equally across all of the services and Defense agencies, since some components say they can avoid furloughs by making offsetting cuts in other areas or generate their own revenue.

But Hagel’s written response indicated that there is no plan to alter the Pentagon’s one-size-fits-all approach. “In reallocating resources throughout the Department to the highest national security priorities, we will strive for consistency and fairness across the Department,” Hagel wrote on April 26.

In his letter, Cox noted that furloughs will increase costs, reduce productivity, and undermine readiness.

“Components and agencies should clearly not be forced to take the same number of furlough days. If components or agencies have come up with offsetting sequestration cuts or generate their own revenues, they should not be required to impose furloughs. That’s not a radical proposition. Rather, that’s competent leadership,” Cox wrote.

A copy of the letter is available at http://bit.ly/14QbLxU.