The union representing employees at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced May 16 that it is launching an advertising campaign protesting proposed decreased funding levels at the civil rights enforcement agency, as well as voluntary "early-out" and proposed buyout offers pending for senior employees.

Gabrielle Martin, president of the National Council of EEOC Locals 216, an affiliate of the American Federation of Government Employees, acknowledged that the union's efforts, along with an attempt to revoke the reorganization of the agency through congressional action, face "an uphill battle." But Martin and another AFGE officer, Andrea Brooks, said that the decrease in personnel--the 2,300 agency employees at EEOC reflect a 20 percent decrease since 2001--and the administration's request for a $4 million budget cut, is having a significant negative impact on EEOC's work.

Over the next six weeks, the union will sponsor newspaper and radio announcements outlining its concerns. The announcements will appear in outlets in 12 metropolitan areas, including Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.