Union Objects to Installation of Spying Video Equipment in Every Government Vehicle

OSHA Administrator Mulls Installing Millions in Spywear to Check for Seatbelt Use

'Sounds Like an Episode of 'Pimp My Ride,'' Says Union Official

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 -- When Mark Roth, general counsel of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), learned that members of the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH) were considering installing video cameras in federal vehicles to ensure seatbelt use by public employees, he was astonished.

"This proposal redefines the word 'absurd'," Roth told Federal Human Resources Week. "It sounds like an episode of 'Pimp My Ride,'" he asserted, referring to the popular MTV show in which the beat-up cars of contestants are fitted with outrageous accoutrements.

"This week, Congress is supposed to pass legislation to keep the U.S. from defaulting on its $7 trillion national debt," Roth later explained. "At the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a spending freeze has left officers in lurch when trying to fill the tanks of their official vehicles, as their government gas cards were declined for lack of payment. But we've got millions for high-tech gadgets? I'm sure the American taxpayer will be greatly amused."

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 600,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.