Posts tagged DOGE
The Federal Workforce Will Be a Little Smaller After the Government Shutdown Ends
October 16, 2025 // While further reductions in the size of the federal workforce are certainly welcome, the layoffs will have to become significantly more aggressive to more than scratch the federal Leviathan. While smaller than its peak at 3.4 million workers in 1990 and then again in 2010, the federal government still employed 2.9 million people, not counting military personnel, as of August 2025. That's almost 3 million people living off the taxes collected by the federal government (or, increasingly, the money it borrows) rather than productively creating goods and services for willing consumers. And those nearly 3 million people aren't all just sitting around. Too many of them get up to mischief by exercising the power of the government to interfere in people's lives and to enforce intrusive rules and laws. Just see my comment above about the public health establishment and the pandemic. Fewer federal employees mean not so many mischief-makers to cause trouble, along with some cost savings.
Federal workers unions call on Schumer, Jeffries to hold the line even if it means a shutdown
September 30, 2025 // In a letter to minority leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Federal Unionists Network and 35 local, council and national unions urged the Democrats to reject any proposal that cuts health care, social security, Veterans’ Affairs and scientific agencies. “We are directly impacted when the government shuts down: our members would no longer be able to work, get paid, or fulfill their mission of serving the American public,” the letter states. “But we believe the most important thing is fighting against the centralization of executive power and for the long-term survival of the critical services the federal government provides, even if that means allowing the government to temporarily shut down.” The American Federation of Government Employees — the largest federal union representing 820,000 federal workers — is not a signatory on the letter.
Yosemite Workers Vote to Unionize
August 27, 2025 // Federal employees at Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon national parks have voted to unionize with the National Federation of Federal Employees. Across the two parks more than 97% of ballots cast in elections that ran from July 22 to Aug. 19 were in favor of unionizing, results that were certified by the Federal Labor Relations Authority on Monday. Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon join a handful of other unionized parks in the US. For decades, government agencies have been required to collectively bargain with employees if they unionize, but the process of negotiating a contract can take years, and the Trump administration has been working to hamstring federal unions’ power.
CDC finalizes roughly 600 layoffs; union says workforce ‘decimated’
August 26, 2025 // “I can confirm that roughly 600 CDC employees were let go,” an American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. “The cuts are across the agency including the Division of Violence Prevention, EEO, FOIA, the Office of Financial Resources, the offices of the chief information and chief operating officers, and more.” The AFGE blasted the timing of the firings, taking place so soon after the fatal shooting that occurred at the CDC’s offices in Atlanta.
Protect Worker Freedom to Best Help Black Women, All Workers
August 21, 2025 // The removal of DEI positions and programming under the second Trump Administration is also credited with having a disparate impact on Black women. This argument might sound reasonable to regular people, but data doesn’t prove it. Black women are overrepresented in federal jobs compared to private sector employment. They comprise 6.6% of the civilian workforce but 12.1% of the federal workforce, the largest differential among racial demographics.
DOGE can maintain access to federal personnel data, court rules
August 13, 2025 // Tuesday’s decision will maintain the status quo, as the appeals court had already paused the lower court’s injunction in April. At Education, DOGE staff can read into platforms that contain federal student loan and other data, while at Treasury they can access IRS systems containing all taxpayer information. DOGE maintains a presence at the Office of Management and Budget, but mostly its staff have dispersed as political appointees of individual agencies.
More Than 150,000 Federal Workers Accepted Trump’s Resignation Incentives
August 6, 2025 // A new government estimate, along with a study by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, provides a long-awaited window into the scale of the departures.
US agencies shrink layoff plans after mass staff exodus
July 16, 2025 // This is the latest example of the Trump administration walking back announcements to cut federal workers, after more aggressively pursuing staff reductions earlier this year. The Department of Veterans Affairs said in July that it would reduce staff by about 30,000 people rather than 80,000. Upon taking office in January, President Donald Trump launched a campaign to overhaul the 2.3 million-strong federal civilian workforce, led by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. By late April, about 100 days into the effort, the government overhaul had resulted in the firing, resignations and early retirements of 260,000 civil servants, according to a Reuters tally.
Supreme Court clears way for Trump to downsize the federal workforce
July 10, 2025 // The labor unions and nonprofit groups that sued over the downsizing offered the justices several examples of what would happen if it were allowed to take effect, including cuts of 40% to 50% at several agencies. Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco were among cities that also sued. “Today’s decision has dealt a serious blow to our democracy and puts services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy. This decision does not change the simple and clear fact that reorganizing government functions and laying off federal workers en masse haphazardly without any congressional approval is not allowed by our Constitution,” the parties that sued said in a joint statement.
The president of the AFL-CIO says she’s committed to the fight against Trump’s immigration policies
June 18, 2025 // We’re deploying strategies in the courts, in Congress. We have pension fund investments that we know can be used strategically as leverage as well. We’re the only institution in the country that has a network of local labor bodies in every state and every city in this country. We have access to working people and workplaces that we can use to educate and train and activate on a moment’s notice. We [were] not going to just close up shop and move on after David’s been released. This is just the start.