Unions Angered as Bush Further Limits Eligibility
ATF employees "have had collective bargaining rights for more than 30 years and there is no indication that having those rights interfered with their mission before," Kelley said in a statement, vowing to work with President-elect Barack Obama's administration to overturn Bush's order.
Peter Winch, national organizer for the American Federation of Government Employees, called the move "an abuse of discretion in the last few days" of Bush's tenure, noting that ATF was reorganized and moved from Treasury to the Justice Department in 2003.
"From then to now, from last week to today, what has changed from the national security perspective? These workers' rights are not trivial," Winch said.
