In a massive show of solidarity, a crowd of hundreds of federal workers, AFL-CIO affiliated union members, and Congressional allies gathered on Feb. 11 at Upper Senate Park to rally to “Save Our Civil Service.” Hosted by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) amid attacks by President Trump on federal workers through a series of Executive Orders, the event highlighted the solidarity of working people for the great career civil servants serving our communities.
Upon taking office, President Trump established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire Elon Musk, to modernize “Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and technology and productivity.” Since its creation, federal workers have seen their job security diminish. The reinstatement of Trump’s 2020 “Schedule F,” renamed Schedule Policy/Career, order allowed officials in his administration to reclassify many civil servants into at-will employees. President Trump could then install whomever he pleases based on favoritism and loyalty to his campaign.
The president also signed an order ending remote work and telework for federal employees, forcing them to choose between resuming work in-person at the office, or signing a memo to voluntarily resign by the end of the 2025 fiscal year.
These executive orders only hurt the American people who rely on federal services like social security and medicare, and allows Trump to replace dedicated civil servants with cronies based on political agendas and favoritism, not merit. Cronyism, or the appointment of friends and associates to positions of power without proper regard to their qualifications, is dangerous and undermines the nature of civil service. The civil service designation is to promote workers who expertly serve the communities they represent and keep services consistent despite the party in power.
As attacks continue towards federal workers, billionaires like Trump and Musk want to restructure the government for capitalistic gains, instead of uplifting workers and our communities. We must stand strong with our AFGE siblings – their fight is our fight. Let’s protect the integrity of the workforce, preserve the public’s trust and hold union strong to save America’s public services.
