WASHINGTON — The American Federation of Government Employees is condemning the Department of Health and Human Services after the agency moved to strip thousands of workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of their union rights while carrying out sweeping layoffs.

AFGE National President Everett Kelley called the action “illegal and immoral,” saying in a statement it punishes hundreds of thousands of employees who safeguard public health. “Tearing up our contracts is a disservice to every American who benefits from the programs and services our members deliver. But let me be clear: our union isn’t going anywhere.”

The union says HHS notified the press, not unions, that it would decertify bargaining units re

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