Because they are constantly bombarded with directives and memos, federal employees claim that there has never been a more perplexing and distressing period to work for the government.
We are deeply offended and humiliated. Regina Marsh, a Social Security claim specialist in Minnesota, said, “We feel terrorized.”
Marsh began her 37-year career with the federal government immediately after graduating from high school. She claims that helping to administer benefits to Americans who have recently been diagnosed with a terminal disease or become incapacitated, as well as to those who have lost a spouse or a parent, has been a stable and fulfilling profession.
According to Marsh, we assist people throughout their worst moments. We take pride in being nice and sensitive to the people we serve, in my opinion.
Scholten presents a measure to expose DOGE and Musk to FOIA regulations.
Because of her Catholic views on abortion, Marsh supported President Trump in 2016 and 2020. However, following the attack on the Capitol on January 6, she lost faith in him.
According to Marsh, executive vice president of AFGE Local 3129, “we’ve been in and out of administrations on both sides of the aisle in all my years, and it’s never really changed our lives that drastically.” Nothing is being done to stop the takeover of our government, in my opinion.
In an effort to protect their members from President Trump’s slew of executive orders, federal employee unions are growing in number. President Trump, along with billionaire advisor Elon Musk, has launched an unprecedented attack on the federal workforce with the goal of shrinking it and eliminating disloyal civil servants.
The largest federal employee union, the American Federation of Government Employees, added more than 14,000 members in the last five weeks, bringing its total number of active members to a record 319,233. According to union spokesperson Tim Kauffman, it is almost as many as the union added in the preceding 12 months.
The increase is noteworthy since, since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Janus v. AFSCME, public employees have not been required to pay membership dues to the unions that negotiate contracts on their behalf. The additional funds will support the union’s numerous legal actions on behalf of federal employees against the Trump administration.
According to Jacob Romans, president of AFGE Local 3669 and a registered nurse at the Minneapolis VA, his local, which comprises around 2,000 nurses, doctors, and other VA employees, has gained 100 new members in just the past two weeks.
According to Romans, they are searching for protection since they are unsure of what may occur. There is a great deal of rage and uncertainty.
The American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees are among the unions that have filed lawsuits against orders that make it easier to fire career civil servants, offer buyouts to workers that may be illegal and unfunded, and share private information with Musk’s program, the Department of Government Efficiency, which is not an official government agency.
Additionally, unions have filed a lawsuit to prevent USAID from being gutted and to prevent DOGE from gaining access to Department of Labor data, which might provide Musk with confidential information regarding OSHA investigations into his businesses SpaceX and Tesla.
The Trump administration’s Fork in the Road buyout offer was halted by a federal judge until at least Monday. The offer to retire and continue to be paid through September is likely illegal and unfunded, so union leaders and Democrats cautioned government employees not to fall for it. Approximately 60,000 workers accepted the offer, according to Reuters, though it’s unknown how many already had plans to depart. The 60,000 employees make up around 2.5 percent of the entire federal workforce, of which 6% usually retire or quit each year.
Romans expressed concern that Trump’s executive orders to end remote work and offer buyouts will simply make the VA’s ongoing personnel need worse and encourage more privatization, which would transfer more government funding to private hospitals.
It doesn’t appear like VA jobs will be impacted by Trump’s order banning remote work. However, Romans stated that in order to offer veterans virtual care, the Minneapolis VA hires physicians from all over the nation, from Florida to Michigan.
Romans said, “I don’t know what’s going to happen to them.”
VA has not stated its policy regarding unionized personnel, despite the fact that almost a fifth of its 479,000 employees work remotely or through telework.
Their union contract includes remote work, but the Trump administration stated it doesn’t think it must uphold those agreements, igniting yet another legal dispute. Amemo of the federal government’s human resources department, the Office of Personnel Management, stated that telework is a management right and that clauses in collective bargaining agreements that go against management rights are illegal and unenforceable.
Romans stated, “We’re going to disagree with that.” They must adhere to the arrangement that we negotiated.
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Eliot Pierce is a dedicated writer for ChiefsFocus.com, covering local crime and finance news. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Eliot aims to provide his readers with clear and insightful analysis, helping them navigate the complexities of their financial lives while staying informed about important local events. His commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content makes him a valuable resource for the community.