Home Media Center News Releases

Washington, D.C. — The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) commends those who rallied outside the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency Friday to show their support for federal employees.

 “As the representative of many EPA employees, we join the message of gratitude that was delivered in person to the hardworking, nonpartisan civil servants of the EPA,” said NTEU National President Tony Reardon.

 A coalition of environmental and labor groups greeted EPA employees on their lunch hour in downtown Washington to say thank-you and protest the administration’s proposed budget cuts. Slashing EPA by 31 percent in 2018, as has been proposed, would decimate the agency’s ability to enforce our nation’s environmental laws and protect public health.

 “We will defend you, your work, and the programs that allow EPA to fulfill its mission, in Congress, in the courts, in communities, and in the streets,” the group wrote in an open letter to EPA employees.

 Diane Lynne, president of NTEU Chapter 280 at EPA headquarters, spoke at the rally.

 “To feel this love is wonderful,” Lynne said. “Every day, our employees come in and there is nothing they love more than doing their jobs. To get this appreciation means so much.”

 NTEU is encouraging Congress to reject the proposed cut and provide stable and adequate funding to ensure our air and water remain clean and our hazardous waste sites are safe.

 “The scientists, chemists, accountants, IT specialists, economists, engineers, lab technicians, toxicologists, grant managers and lawyers at the EPA deserve our respect and our admiration,” Reardon said. “But most importantly, they deserve a budget that gives them the personnel and resources to do the job taxpayers expect them to do and the scientific integrity their work demands. They are charged with a critical mission: protect the planet for future generations.”

NTEU represents 150,000 employees at 31 federal agencies and departments.