Today some good news came from Washington. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that civilian DOD employees would only be forced to endure six days of furlough. The furloughs have been shaved down from the originally proposed 22 to 11, and now down to six.

American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. today issued the following statement:

“AFGE has argued from the start that the Department of Defense furloughs were always the worst possible way for the department to absorb sequestration’s cuts. The secretary’s announcement suggests that he has finally realized that furloughs are costly in terms of dollars, readiness, and morale.

“The administration is finally listening to our AFGE activists, who have been flooding the White House and congressional offices with stories of personal hardship and the ways in which furloughs have undermined military readiness.

“The terrible economic harm and injustice that has already been done to the 650,000 DoD civilians who should have never been furloughed has yet to be addressed. I am calling on Secretary Hagel to take immediate action to reimburse the furloughed employees for the six days of income they have lost.

“The hardworking men and women who support our military were exploited by Pentagon officials to send a political message to Congress about sequestration. Now that these same officials have admitted that the furlough was unnecessary, the only fair thing to do is to make full financial restitution to the employees who were harmed.”

This is great news for the hard-working men and women at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter has been fighting against the Sequester from the beginning. She has gone to bat for the workers in her district, specifically those at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter released this statement:

“Today’s announcement is welcome news for thousands of hardworking families, but it is not an excuse for Congressional inaction.

“Sequestration’s irrational and reckless cuts hurt our economy and limit job growth. Congress must replace sequestration with a responsible budget that reduces the deficit and increases middle class security. Only this will set our country on a path towards strong economic growth. Sequestration is not the answer.”

Congresswoman Annie Kuster had this to say after the announcement:

“This decision to cut furloughs nearly in half will help thousands of families around New Hampshire and across the country, but it’s only the first step,” Kuster said. “This is a good example of people working together for the good of the country. Now, Republicans and Democrats need to come together and finish the job by finding a balanced, bipartisan solution to the automatic spending cuts that continue to harm our families and undermine our economy.”

Since taking office, Kuster has repeatedly called on Congress to replace these mindless, across-the-board cuts with a balanced plan to reduce the deficit, grow the economy, and help create jobs. Earlier this year, Kuster wrote an op-ed highlighting the damaging impacts the cuts would have on families and businesses in New Hampshire. She has spoken out against the cuts during recent visits to the Nashua Airport Tower and the Windham Senior Center, among others, and she has cosponsored common sense, bipartisan legislation like the Government Waste Reduction Act that would cut wasteful spending and help reduce the deficit while protecting seniors and middle class families.



The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

The New Hampshire Labor News is a group of NH Workers who believe that we need to protect ourselves against the attacks on workers. We are proud union members who are working to preserve the middle class. The NHLN talks mostly about news and politics from NH. We also talk about national issues that effect working men and women here in the Granite State.

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