Federal workers fearful of Trump plans
Possible return-to-office mandate and restructuring of agencies could push some out of their jobs
By: Terry Collin
USA Today
..... Chelsea Milburn remembers feeling :blessed" to find her ideal job as a public affairs specialist for the Department of Education, a near-perfect situation after her life dramatically changed two years ago following an illness.
.....
But,like more than 228,000 federal workers who telework, Milburn's job is at risk if Donald Trump makes good on his promise to require federal workers to return to the office five days a week. She has a disability that makes it hard for her to sit at her desk full time.
..... Many more of the 2.3 million civilian federal workers could lose their jobs if Trump fulfills other campaign promises to shutter the Education Department and overhaul agencies including the Justice Department and Health and Human Services.
..... "It's not the first time this has come up; it just feels louder this time," said Milburn, who in November [2024] started remote work for the Education Department after having a similar job for the Navy.
..... Trump, thorough his Department of Government Efficiency, believes he could save millions of dollars through reorganization and layoffs, but restructuring the government would cost jobs in unexpected places.
..... It's easy to think federal workers are only in Washington and serve within nameless bureaucracies. But only about 15% of federal employees work in the nation's capitol, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The remaining 85% are spread across big cites like Dallas and state capitals like Carson City, Nevada, where Milburn lives.
..... They are, among others, postal workers, civil engineers and Transpiration Security Administration agents. They are mostly represented by the American Federation of Government employees, a union of 750,000 federal workers. are covered by collective bargaining contracts, many of which include remote work arrangements.
..... Although it's unclear how exactly DOGE would cut government spending, Trump has entrusted Tesla CEO SpaceX founder and billionaire Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the unofficial department's effort to streamline the government.
.....
Musk has promised to make cuts that would shrink the federal workforce and cut federal agencies to about 99 from more than 440.
..... DOGE may be unable to do much, since Congress controls federal spending. Still, the increasing rhetoric has some government works nationwide unsettled.
..... Milburn, 34, began her public affairs specialist job for the Department of Education two months ago. The Navy reservist joined a tight-knit unit where most of her colleagues are veterans like her. Even though Milburn works remotely, she said, she's quickly formed a bond.
..... Milburn developed :long COVID" shortly after a particularly severe bout with the virus in 2022. Then, last year, [2024] she was diagnosed with postural orthostiaitc tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, a chronic condition that often leave her dizzy when she stands, breathless and exhausted.
..... "It been a really hard transition for me, going from an active person and a Navy chief to where I can't work in an office," Milburn said, chocking up. "And when I got hired as a civil servant this job I have now, it showed me that even with my disability, my country sees that as an individual, I still have value."
..... Jesus Soriano, the president of an AFGE union representing workers at the National Science Foundation, doesn't mince words about the incoming Trump administration's desire to disrupt the federal government.
.....
"Yeah, people are in a panic," said Soriano, a program director for the NSF Partnership for Innovation initiative, which helps provide funding to academic and nonprofit researchers and broaden access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics research. "We are facing public harassment at a maximum scale."
..... Soriano, 57, has worked for the NSF in numerous capacities for 13 years. He's also been involved with his union for seven years, including serving as the NSF lead representative for the past tow years. he lives in Northern Virginia and is married with three kids, including a freshman in college. Sleepless nights are common.
..... "I look at my kids, and as someone who works about 120 hours per pay period. I ask myself, 'Will I have a job?' " Soriano said. "Will I be able to feed them two months from now?"
..... As a civil rights attorney in the Department of Education, sharia Smith's job is to determine whether schools and districts nationwide are complaint, or whether they may risk losing federal funding.
..... As president and chief negotiator of AFGE Local 252, representing nearly 3,000 employees in her department, Smith, a Harvard graduate, fights for the rights of her colleagues who mostly work remotely from coast to coast.
..... "It feels like we've been down this road before, but the threats are different this time around," Smith said. "Scary? Yeah,
that's the right word to sue."
..... Smith remembers her continuous struggles when she to the lead union position in 2019 with Trump, then in his first term, and his education secretary Betsy DeVos. This included the department imposing a nonunion negotiated contract that workers said violated their rights.
.....
The union filed an unfair labor practices charge with the Federal Labor Relations Authority. The union and the Education Department eventually settled in 2022.
..... Smith now worries about Trump's proposal to eliminate the 45-year-old department and distribute some of its programs across other federal agencies.
..... Smith also said returning to the office isn't realistic for everyone.
..... Many federal workers don't have offices to go to, Smith said, as her union negotiated with the Department of Education to get out of the agency;s $12 million-per-year office lease in New York City in 2023.
..... Other agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, have reduced office space post-pandemic and plan to do even more, according to an office of Management and Budget report in August. [2024]