During periods of war and other national emergencies, government agencies and workers usually act in concert for the common good of the country. That point of view seems to have escaped officials of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) who have said that they will file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court in order to prevent the United States Department of Defense from implementing those parts of the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) of which the union disapproves.
The U. S. Court of Appeals denied a previous motion by AFGE Defense Department workers, and and a lower court had earlier upheld the NSPS regulations.
While the country faces ongoing threats from terrorists and is fighting a war on two fronts (Iraq and Afghanistan), it is essential that all elements of the government cooperate and not be derailed from the important missions that the country is engaged in. For a union to place its own interests above those of the welfare of the entire country is, indeed, a sorry commentary on union priorities.
