Barack Obama

“ The elimination of collective bargaining rights is not the purpose Congress had this year when it enacted legislation in support of the hundreds of thousands of civilian employees who support the mission and operations of the Department of Defense. I am fully aware that DoD's civilian employees are the Department's backbone, without which our troops would never be able to conduct operations in an effective manner. Never before has that support function been so important to all Americans, as we fight two wars simultaneously in Iraq and Afghanistan. ”

“ Further, the class action lawsuits alleging race, gender, and age bias by employees placed under pay systems similar to NSPS in other agencies should give us pause. I cannot and will not support a pay system which discriminates against employees, and I cannot and will not support a pay system which ultimately is designed to suppress wages for civilian DoD employees over time. ”

“ I want to assure you that if I am elected President, I will substantially revise these NSPS regulations, and strongly consider a complete repeal.
Thank you, John, for all you and AFGE's members do for America. ”