Posts tagged AFGE
Homeland Security ends collective bargaining agreement with TSA workers
March 10, 2025 // In its announcement Friday, the TSA said it found that nearly 200 employees were working on union matters full-time while collecting a government salary — claims disputed by the union. Under federal law, employees serving as union representatives are entitled to devote part of their work time to union matters in a manner that is “reasonable, necessary, and in the public interest.” Trump implemented a similar reporting requirement during his first term, but it appears to have stopped during President Joe Biden’s time in office.
Unions take their protest of federal layoffs to the US Capitol
March 7, 2025 // They were there to demonstrate against reductions to the federal workforce. Signs included messages such as, “Save the Civil Service, Save the Country” and, “Support the Federal Workforce.” “The skies are crying because what’s happening to our workforce and what’s happening to the missions of our agencies,” said Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union. The protest was organized by a coalition of unions, including NTEU, and those who spoke criticized President Donald Trump’s administration’s downsizing of the federal workforce.
Philly congressman, union leaders, workers protest Trump’s federal layoffs
February 27, 2025 // “As to how we’re doing, the only answer is poorly,” Alex Berman, the executive vice president of the National Treasury Union Chapter 71, which represents Philly-area IRS workers, told NBC10 on Monday. “I have been on my phone constantly talking to the more than 400 people at my chapter alone who were let go under false pretenses. Now we’re looking at, if you don’t do X, you’ll be fired.” Berman referred to an email that was sent to federal workers last week asking them to detail their work. Monday’s rally took place at Independence National Historical Park where two employees were recently laid off, according to a union official.
Agencies, unions tell fed workers: Don’t answer Musk’s threat email
February 25, 2025 // "AFGE will challenge any unlawful terminations of our members and federal employees across the country," union president Everett Kelley said in a statement Saturday night. Kelley sent a letter to OPM acting director Charles Ezell on Sunday, demanding the email be withdrawn by that night. The AFGE also sent guidance to members Sunday saying they should respond if ordered to do so by their agencies.
Unions sue over federal worker firings, alleging Trump administration misused probationary periods
February 20, 2025 // The unions allege in the complaint filed late Wednesday in U.S. District Court in California that the firings "represent one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country.”
New documents show TSA screeners illegally unionized, pro-worker group says
February 11, 2025 // “During the Obama administration, the TSA administrator did an abrupt about-face, and TSA moved ahead with allowing screeners to unionize in violation of the law,” Dave Dorey, an attorney specializing in labor and employment law who represented AFFT, told the Washington Examiner. “Multiple administrators of TSA have stated publicly that TSA screeners are not covered by Title V, which includes significant rights for unionized workers — including the ability to file claims of unfair labor practices with an independent board and ultimately vindicate their rights in federal court. TSA screeners have none of these protections.”
AFGE sees surge in new members as its lawsuits stall Trump’s federal workforce policies
February 11, 2025 // AFGE currently stands at 321,000 dues-paying members, its highest level ever, and is on track to reach 325,000 dues-paying members by the end of the week. Everett Kelley, the union’s national president, told reporters on Monday that AFGE originally planned to reach that membership goal by December 2025.
The Latest: Judge temporarily blocks Trump plan offering incentives for federal workers to resign
February 6, 2025 // Federal workers associations have filed suit asking a federal court to stop the Trump administration’s “effective dismantling” of the lead U.S. aid agency. The lawsuit by the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees comes as the new Trump administration and ally Elon Musk are targeting the U.S. Agency for International Development for eradication, freezing its funds and placing almost all of its workers on leave or furlough.
Labor Department workers fear they’re next on DOGE’s to-do list
February 6, 2025 // he suit came just before representatives of DOGE met with Labor Department officials, prompting an outcry from lawmakers and labor groups who staged a demonstration outside the Frances Perkins Building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday afternoon. “They want us to think that DOL is some bureaucracy that doesn’t matter, that could not be further from the truth,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said at the rally, speaking to several hundred union members and supporters. “This is about our health, our safety, our fair pay, our jobs, and these are the people who fight for us.”
Unions sue DOGE, Labor Department to block access to worker and Musk competitor data
February 6, 2025 // The lawsuit comes amid a swirl of controversy regarding efforts by Musk and members of his DOGE organization to cut federal spending, size down the federal workforce and readjust or outright close certain government agencies — efforts that have sparked an ever-increasing amount of litigation. Musk has moved to overhaul the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Treasury Department, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Education since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.