Thousands of federal workers and their supporters will march to the White House to let President Bush know they strongly oppose new federal personnel rules that strip workers of their collective bargaining rights. The new National Security Personnel System would allow Department of Defense officials to override provisions in collective bargaining contracts for 650,000 civilian DoD employees.

This protest is part of a week of actions worldwide to shine a light on employers' efforts to thwart workers' freedom to form unions. Throughout this week, workers around the globe will hold rallies, town hall meetings, candlelight vigils and teach-ins to expose the obstacles they face when seeking to join a union at work and to showcase strategies for overcoming those barriers.

The events are part of a massive global mobilization to mark Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day, the anniversary of the 1948 ratification of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which includes workers' freedom to form unions.

Photo: Eleanor Roosevelt holds the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as a poster in English, in November 1949 at Lake Success, NY, which was then the location of the United Nations headquarters.(UN Photo # UN 23783)

When: Thursday, Dec. 8; gather at 11:30 am, rally and march at noon
Where: AFL-CIO (815 16th St. NW, McPherson Square Metro)
More Info: Kevin Byrne at 202/639-6232, kbyrne@aflcio.org or www.dclabor.org