As Trump takes aim at unions, Georgia’s federal workers face uncertainty

Labor unions representing federal employees across Georgia and beyond are clashing with the Trump administration’s aggressive cuts to the workforce and anti-union policies, which have aimed to weaken the power of unions.

Outside of Georgia‘s state Capitol, hundreds of demonstrators gathered Thursday on an international day of action for workers’ rights, denouncing President Donald Trump’s agenda and chanting, “Stand up! Fight back!”

Among those at the demonstration was Jessica Ingram, a 37-year-old employee at the Social Security Administration. She said she hasn’t been affected by the federal cuts but is concerned about where the Trump administration and its policies are headed.

“These attacks are not just against one federal agency,” said Ingram, a member of the American Federation of Government Employees. “It‘s against all of us.”

But while unions continue to be an obstacle for Trump and his policies in the courts and the streets, they’re also in a tight spot following an executive order signed by the president in late March.

An order instructing federal agencies with national security missions to end collective bargaining agreements with labor unions takes an expansive view of national security, applying it to large swathes of the government, including the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and more than a dozen other agencies.

“President Donald Trump refuses to let union obstruction interfere with his efforts to protect Americans and our national interests,” a White House fact sheet on Trump’s order stated.

A federal district court judge issued a preliminary injunction last week that halted the implementation of the order after the National Treasury Employees Union filed suit. The order also blocked guidance from the Office of Personnel Management directing agencies to stop deducting union dues from employees’ paychecks.

The order was in effect from late March until last week, handing unions a large financial blow, as they were unable to collect dues directly from members’ paychecks. As a result, AFGE announced last month plans to lay off more than half its workforce.

But some unions see glimmers of hope. Amid uncertainty over job security, federal workers and employees placed on administrative leave have turned to unions for help. Before Trump’s executive order, in February, AFGE said the number of dues-paying members surged to new heights.

Abby Tighe, a public health adviser in the CDC’s division of overdose prevention, said she joined AFGE after she and many other probationary employees were placed on administrative leave at the CDC in February.

She said having a union to stand up for employees and fight in court for them is crucial to help protect them from the president‘s policies.

“We‘re in this new reality where … federal workers feel like they need this collective bargaining unit and group to help them advocate — not just for their work, but for the American people,” she said.

Private-sector unions have joined the fight. Amaia Ward, 22, a union steward for Teamsters Local 728 and a part-time UPS employee, fears that the president won’t stop at just attacking unions representing federal employees.

“We’ve seen in Trump’s first presidency that he is one to escalate things,” she said. “If there is no response from the workers, he will continue.”

Irma Westmoreland, a nurse at the Augusta Medical Center and the vice president of the National Nurses United labor union, said since the administration has taken aim at the Department of Veterans Affairs, workers have become more involved in unions.

“Those people who wouldn’t stand with us are now standing with us and coming out in droves,” Westmoreland said.

Cost-cutting measures by the president and Elon Musk, aimed at ridding the government of waste, fraud and bureaucracy.

But Westmoreland said that she and other nurses within the VA have been spread thin after cuts to probationary employees in the agency.

“It‘s pure chaos,” she said.

And it‘s not just about what positions the Trump administration has cut but also about what positions in federal agencies aren’t being filled, Westmoreland said.

In a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz said that the agency intends to reduce the size of its workforce from about 470,000 to its 2019 staffing level of just under 400,000.

He also criticized former President Joe Biden for increasing the VA‘s budget and workforce during his administration. The department, Kasperowicz said, plans to cut waste while improving health care and benefits for veterans.

“Our message to veterans is simple: Despite major opposition from those who don’t want to change a thing at VA, we will reform the department to make it work better for veterans, families, caregivers and survivors,” he said.

Westmoreland said there are areas where the VA could reduce waste, including bringing down the price of medical supplies and prescription drug prices. But she said that cutting large swathes of the workforce is not going to achieve efficiency.