Environmental Protection Agency employees are being urged to join a rally on Capitol Hill next month by a union representing the agency, according to an email obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 280 sent an invitation to the rally on the EPA email system during work hours, encouraging employees to rally for "respect."
"Please join NTEU members from across the country as we rally at the U.S. Capitol for fair pay, a secure retirement, and respect," the email, which was sent Wednesday, states.
"We really need you to come for this," the union said. "Now, more than ever it's important that EPA employees stand together."
The rally comes at a time when government bureaucrats, including career employees for the EPA, are vowing to resist the new Trump administration. In an unprecedented effort, EPA employees called their senators last week pressing them to vote against Scott Pruitt as the new EPA administrator. The New York Times called it "a remarkable display of activism and defiance that presages turbulent times ahead for the EPA." Pruitt was confirmed by a vote of 52-46.
Other EPA employees were still crying at work more than two months after Hillary Clinton's election loss.
The rally is being held on March 2 on the West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Attendees who are members of the bargaining unit will receive a free NTEU t-shirt.
"P.S. use your lunch time to rally," the union said. "Any time in excess of your normal lunch period is considered non-work time and should be accounted for through leave, credit hours, or other absence time."
"P.P.S. Please use your non-EPA email address and personal time when you share this email with people."
"Save the date and spread the word," the union added. "All are welcome. Bring friends, family, and coworkers."
The NTEU Chapter 280 is a union for workers at EPA headquarters whose positions require a college degree. The union represents approximately 1,700 employees.
The union has previously promoted the upcoming "March for Science," a liberal rally to be held in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., set for Earth Day next month.
"Mischaracterization of science as a partisan issue, which has given policymakers permission to reject overwhelming evidence, is a critical and urgent matter," a description of the March for Science reads.
Request for comment from the EPA and the NTEU were not immediately returned.