Federal Workers Union Sues White House Over Possible Government Shutdown

Fox News ^ | 4/5/2011 | fox news

[Publius6961]

Federal Workers Union Sues White House Over Possible Government Shutdown

I LOVE this!

If Federal workers have standing to sue the White House for "allowing" a government shutdown, then working taxpaying Americans must also have standing to sue the White House for not vetoing legislation that allowed Congress to spend money it did not have, and creating 13 Trillion$ of debt that can't be paid.

It created the possibility of a National Default. You can't legislate the rules of mathematics out of existence.

There is enough criminal incompetence to go around.

[tanknetter]

Shut down the government for a month and see if anyone who produces notices.

How do you define "produces"? Does it include private businesses that have government employees as patrons/customers?

There's a reason why Senators and Congressmen fight so hard to have government facilities in their states and districts; government employees pump good portions of their salaries back into the local economies.

Now, I'm not saying that the Federal Government shouldn't be cut and cut significantly (it should be), or that this shutdown crisis isn't the responsibility of Obama and the Dems (it most certainly is). But I'm also a realist in knowing that doing so is going to have a cascading shock impact through many local economies throughout the US.

I think the right approach to this is to say that a shut down (vice a planned, structured and organized downsizing) is an avoidable tragedy with far-reaching impacts that the Dems have cynically maneuvered the country into for their own duplicitous partisan benefit.

[max americana]

I was already ashamed of this country when the Kenyan Klown was elected....the socialism here in America makes my former country of Canada look like Texas. I try to escape socialism and here it is in America.

[Raider Sam]

Does that mean that the White House is “responsible” for the government shutdown?

[TankerKC]

Gage said public unions have been given very little information on how agencies would determine which employees are essential in the event of a government shutdown.

Here's what you do: If you didn't come in the last time there was a snow shutdown, you are non-essential.

[Publius6961]

Yep. Whoever came up with the idea to allow government workers to unionize was an epic idiot.

I agree.
His greatest claim to fame was getting himself assasinated.

JFK

But it wasn't legislated.
It can be terminated just as easily.

[leapfrog0202]

Fire ALL Federal workers,
Well, thanks for your support. I am one of those federal workers. I help keep the B-1B Lancer flying. I have done so for the past 22 years. Prior to that I was an Air Force flying officer for 15 years. So I have been sucking at the government teat for 37 years. I could be making twice as much working for a contractor, but I would feel a little guilty getting that pay for the same work.

P.S. I am emergency essential. I will work even if it is possible without pay. Did that when Clinton shut down the government. We did get paid, but unlike the nonessential workers we did not get an extra week paid vacation. I am not complaining, but those are the facts.
__________________________
Know just how you feel Andrew. I wrote something similar last week and was berated by more than 1 person on that thread that was busy dancing because the gov’t. was being shut down.

I explained what my husband did, he runs education & training for our base - making sure all the service members and civilians are properly trained, does WAPS testing for our service members and many other things.

He’s considered non-essential - all righty then. I can see how those jobs are non-essential /sarc

I was told other people have lost their jobs and I should suck it up. I said yeah but when they lost them people weren’t cheering were they? That’s how I feel.

I did used to feel like many of the people on this site could see the trees rather than the forest, but now they’ve lumped all federal workers in the bad apple category and they don’t care how many of their fellow FReepers are hurt, as long as the government shuts down.

bitter? Yeah, I guess I am. I did think FReepers had more sense than the general populations.

Good luck to you Andrew and thanks for doing what you do. There are good federal workers but folks fail to see that.

[Zeddicus]

Well, thanks for your support. I am one of those federal workers. I help keep the B-1B Lancer flying. I have done so for the past 22 years. Prior to that I was an Air Force flying officer for 15 years. So I have been sucking at the government teat for 37 years. I could be making twice as much working for a contractor, but I would feel a little guilty getting that pay for the same work.

Thank you for your service to our country (not being sarcastic; I mean it).

But you need to understand, this sort of garbage from the government unions has alot of the rest of us ready to throw the baby out with the bath water.

Federal employees need to get their own unions under control and back to operating in the real world if they don't want this kind of backlash from we who fund your paychecks.

[sickoflibs]

Today Obama is playing the cameras to the hilt lecturing Republicans to just play fair to keep the government open, bashing Republicans for being unreasonable. The MSNBC shows are all playing a shutdown to the hilt every show cheering Obama's acting : “Oh this is going to hurt the American people. These extremists just want to shut down the government to hurt the people like you.”. They act convinced that Obama/Reid will win a shutdown and Republicans will be crushed, especially in 2012 elections.

Here's some scenarios I just thought up from best to worst:

1) The Democrats cave before a shutdown(rosy scenario)
2) The government shuts down and Democrats cave to public pressure
3) The government shuts down and Republicans in swing districts get weak knee-ed as their voters complain and Democrats get their spending as Republicans cave, but voters remember this in 2012 when the deficit is out of control and gas prices are high and punish democrats.
4) The government shuts down and Republicans cave as in #3 except voters side with Democrats in 2012.(disaster scenario)
5)Republicans cave before a shut down (another disaster).

This is hardball politics. It requires getting out the message better than the other guy(the enemy).

[tanknetter]

There are good federal workers but folks fail to see that.

People need to remember that the Conservative philosophy is that small, limited government that is as close to The People as possible and is engaged in only inherently governmental tasks/responsibilities is the best kind of government.

There's a term for no government. It's "anarchy". Something that any true Conservative will find abhorrent.

[upchuck]

Speaking of things that should be shut down...

[Publius6961]

Fire ALL Federal workers
P.S. I am emergency essential. I will work even if it is possible without pay. Did that when Clinton shut down the government. We did get paid, but unlike the nonessential workers we did not get an extra week paid vacation. I am not complaining, but those are the facts.

You scare me.
The faux outrage leaves me cold. If you are doing critical work with a personality problem something is wrong.

You chose to interpret the "ALL" to include our armed forces. Anyone with that level of poverty of judgement I would not want working on my lawnmower.

Get over yourself.

Not once, ever, in the 14 years I have visited Free Republic do I recall a single statement or suggestion that ANY of our armed forces are overpaid. But I have seen hundreds of angry demands that their risks and sacrifices be compensated more equitably.

[Lancey Howard]

The union didn’t do this without permission from the Ubanga regime.
I wonder what those scumbags have up their sleeves?

[shanover]

For the first time in my adult life, I think America has become a great big ****in’ disgrace! What a joke!

Are we really at the precipice over looking the end of the American experiment?It may be to late.There is a formidable and growing ignorant class of people who do not give a sh*t about America but only care about themselves.The second American civil war will be won or lost without a shot being fired;unconstitutional judges,criminal labor unions,the democrat socialists,illegal immigrants and Americans taught by the government schools.God help us.

[Publius6961]

Does that mean that the White House is “responsible” for the government shutdown?

At least an equal partner. Yes, that would include Reagan, and the Bushes.

The Veto is a very powerful weapon.

[yldstrk]

What a total crock. They ought to be ashamed. Greedy pigs.

[Lancey Howard]

Here is my theory:

Ubanga and the rats are in the pocket of the unions - - all the unions. This is not open for debate unless you are a moron. The rats likely have internal polling data that tells them a significant portion of the voting public is uncomfortable with their cozy relationship with big labor special interests, especially as it concerns government unions who knock each other over trying to get their snouts deeper into the public trough.

By orchestrating this ludicrous lawsuit (suing to find out which federal workers will get laid off? LMAO, gimme a break!) the Ubanga regime, the rats, and the government unions hope to con at least some of the ignorant masses into believeing that, hey, maybe the unholy alliance isn't as bad as we thought after all.

It's like when the ACLU defends the Illinois Nazis, or the New York Times endorses a local New York Republican candidate who they know has the election in the bag anyway. "See? We're not partisan."

This "lawsuit" is strictly a head fake.

[savage woman]

No, No, No...
Our best days are ahead of us...by looking at your tagline..

[yldstrk]

yeah yeah

all you idiots have that line down “I could be making twice as much for a contractor”

You just left out the part about “but they didn’t hire me” or ‘they wouldn’t hire my spouse too” or “but I don’t have the energy to go get that job”

What a LOAD!

[USNBandit]

Gage said public unions have been given very little information on how agencies would determine which employees are essential in the event of a government shutdown.

What a load of poop. I work for one of the more f'd up departments, DHS and have known who is going to work and who isn't for a while. We have been told to expect to work with no pay until this Congress does the job the last Congress failed to do.

I'm lucky that I don't live paycheck to paycheck, and I want the government to shut down if it means bigger budget cuts.