GARDEN CITY, Idaho — Federal employees from various branches gathered at Brown Beard Brewing to express their frustrations with current job uncertainties and union issues.
“There's a lot of folks out there that have some uncertainty in their lives right now with everything that's going on,” said Bryce Tuttle, owner of Brown Beard Brewing. “So, I mean, I think the best thing that I could do as a fellow business owner is just welcome some folks in, share a drink, a well-deserved drink, and let them network and connect and, yeah, meet some other fellow federal employees or past or prior.”
Cameron Cochems from AFGE 1127, highlighted the struggle many federal employees face due to efficiency cuts that not only affect job stability but also union membership. “You know, I think so many people get federal jobs because of the stability and all these other things and the benefits. The pay is not as good as a lot of other private agency jobs,” Cochems noted.
Cochems pointed out the impact of recent policy changes on union memberships. “They took away all of the ability for members to pay their dues through payroll deduction. So now we lost 80% of our members just from that. But then also the fact that they don't even recognize us means that they won't have meetings with us,” he said.
Cochems warned that these changes could lead to broader inefficiencies within the TSA. “And it's worrisome, you know, like it's union busting, plain and simple. And that's not good. That makes morale lower at airports. It's going to make wait times slower. We don't want any of that. We have the same goal as everyone else at the TSA, that the union does, you know. And we know the mission. It's to protect the nation's transportation system, to ensure a freedom movement for people in commerce.”
