Largest federal employees union slashing more than half of staff

The AFGE.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union representing the federal workforce, is slashing more than half of its staff around the country, pinning the blame on President Trump and his executive actions. 

AFGE is expected to lay off more than 200 employees, going from 355 workers down to about 150, the union confirmed to The Hill on Friday. This includes more than 100 workers within the union president’s office, along with dozens in offices across the U.S.

The union’s national representatives, support staff, organizers and others will be affected by cuts.

The layoffs will deal a blow, but the union, which represents 820,000 federal and Washington, D.C., government workers, contended its fight for the rights of federal employees will not slow down. 

“From Day 1 this Administration has sought to stamp out the voices of patriotic civil servants, and these attacks on their unions are no different,” the AFGE said in a statement. “The President’s elimination of elective membership dues and the resulting layoffs are a setback, but they are not the end of AFGE — not by a longshot.” 

The group said it “will not be deterred, silenced, or intimidated into submission. Whether it’s in the courts, on Capitol Hill, or in the press, AFGE will continue to stand tall and defend the rights of America’s civil servants as long as it takes.” 

The AFGE has filed several lawsuits, ranging from preventing the Department of Government Efficiency and its top adviser Elon Musk from accessing sensitive employee data, to barring the administration from firing probationary employees. 

The organization is part of the network of federal employee unions and advocacy groups that started a legal defense group, dubbed “Rise Up,” to offer counsel to thousands of recently fired government workers. 

In late March, Trump also penned an executive order to end union rights for workers at numerous federal government agencies. Since then, the departments have stopped workers from having their union dues automatically subtracted from their salary.