Rally to Stop the Sequester

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

***MEDIA ALERT***

Contact:               Dorothy James  (312-421-6245)                 Tim Kauffman (202-639-6405)

                                John J. O’Grady  (312-886-3575)                                Brent Barron (815-343-8634)

Federal Employees Rally to Stop the Sequester and Impacts to Government Services in Chicago Sequester Cuts will Severely Impact Government Services to Public

The American Federation of Government Employees Bureau of Prisons, Department of Agriculture, Department of Education and Commerce, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Labor, Environmental Protection Agency, Railroad Retirement Board, Social Security Administration, and Veterans Affairs, in conjunction with the Chicago Federation of Labor and the Illinois AFL-CIO will be having a protest rally in downtown Chicago to “Stop the Sequester” and to educate the public about the devastating impact of sequestration on government services provided to all Americans.

WHAT:                 Stop the Sequester Protest Rally

WHEN:                                 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 pm, Wednesday, March 20, 2013

WHERE:               John C. Kluczynski Federal Building Plaza

                                230 South Dearborn, Chicago, IL               

WHO:                   Federal civilian employees represented by the American Federation of Government Employees at the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Agriculture, Department of Education and Commerce, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Labor, Environmental Protection Agency, Railroad Retirement Board, Social Security Administration, and Veterans Affairs, in conjunction with the Chicago Federation of Labor and the Illinois AFL-CIO.

WHY:                    Federal employees are planning to hold about 100 rallies across the country on March 20 protesting sequestration, as part of a mass demonstration organized by the American Federation of Government Employees.

“Our message is very clear: sequestration has got to go,” AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said. “If federal employees are furloughed without pay, if offices and plants are shut down, if vacancies aren’t filled because of these across-the-board budget cuts, then federal employees won’t be able to do the work that the American public expects them to do.”

For a list of cities holding rallies, visit http://local.americawantstowork.org/all

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The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 675,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Colu