John O'Grady, president of AFGE Local 704 in Chicago, left a protest on his voice mail.

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Chicago's is one of 100 AFGE rallies planned for Wednesday, from East Syracuse, N.

WSJ: Demonstration Against Sequestration Has Reasons, but Few Rhymes

Ms. James had a staffer from the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor federation, in her office all day Friday working to drum up marchers from non-AFGE locals.

WSJ: Demonstration Against Sequestration Has Reasons, but Few Rhymes

The inspector general study "allays concerns for the flying public but not for the people working the equipment, " said Milly Rodriguez, a health and safety specialist at AFGE.

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Dorothy James, vice president of AFGE's District 7, which includes Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, says that sequestration carries a whiff of Washington silliness that is keeping people on the sidelines.

WSJ: Demonstration Against Sequestration Has Reasons, but Few Rhymes

The AFGE represents 12, 000 of the TSA's nearly 40, 000 transportation security officers in many personnel matters, while also overseeing the broader collective bargaining of nearly 40, 000 other government employees at the Department of Homeland Security, including the Coast Guard, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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