From AFT Activist Notes:
5-13-08
Dear Dr. Rich Gibson, Earlier today, the U.S. Senate voted 69-29 to remove a procedural hurdle blocking consideration of S. 2123, the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007. This bill would secure collective bargaining rights for first responders and other public safety employeesincluding corrections officers, police officers, firefighters and other emergency service personnelin states that currently fail to offer such protections. This victory was aided by AFT e-Activists who sent more than 2,000 letters to their senators in support of this bill. Click here to see how your senators voted. Having overcome this procedural hurdle, we anticipate that the Senate will pass the underlying bill this week. In 2007, the House voted overwhelmingly in favor of similar legislation (H.R. 980) by a vote of 314-97. Although President Bush has threatened to veto this bill, we will work with our allies in support of overriding any possible veto. We will keep you apprised of developments as they occur and request your assistance at the appropriate time. We appreciate all of your efforts in helping to secure collective bargaining rights for our public safety employees. |