Defending Public Services

The AFT has worked tirelessly with our three federal locals, including the Federation of Indian Service Employees, to resist the attacks on federal workers. FISE leaders and members have met with members of Congress, spoken to the media, and made it clear that attacks on Native Americans are  unacceptable. This work resulted in the Office of Personnel Management walking back its attack on probationary employees, and the Department of the Interior  rehired many of them. As of July 8, 2025, the Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to pursue mass federal government layoffs. FISE is continuing to educate members about the evolving federal situation.

The AFT has worked to protect federal workers and the communities they serve by fighting in the courts.

The AFT successfully sued to block the Department of Education and the federal personnel office from sharing data with DOGE, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Read our news release here.

The AFT sued over the Trump administration's deadline to end school and college diversity programs.  On April 24, we won a preliminary injunction in this case. Read our news release here.

The AFT sued the Department of Education for effectively breaking the student loan system, denying borrowers access to affordable loan payments and blocking progress toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Read our news release here and share your story if you have been affected by the recent Trump-engineered failures of the student loan system.

The AFT has also pushed back against this administration’s overreach by fighting in the court of public opinion and peacefully protesting in the streets.

The AFT held more than 2,000 events and activities on March 4 as part of the Protect Our Kids Day of Action. Among the events: a virtual teach-in in Detroit; a rally at the New York Capitol in Albany; a “clap-in” for students in Cincinnati; “walk-ins” in Chicago and Albuquerque, N.M.; letter writing in Pittsburgh and Fairfax County, Va.; and news conferences in Florida, New Jersey and Puerto Rico. Read our news release here and find more information here.

The AFT was one of the major organizations involved in the nationwide No Kings Day protests against authoritarianism and threats to democracy. Over 5 million people across the country joined this historic protest, estimated to be the largest single day of action in American history. You can watch a highlight reel of No Kings Day here and read President Randi Weingarten’s June New York Times column about taking action against authoritarianism here.

Get The Facts: How Trump's Joint Address to Congress Impacts Public Employees. In his address to Congress, President Trump glossed over how his recent actions have harmed public employees. He also amplified his lies about federal savings and made it clear that his plan is to further enrich billionaires and corporations, not lower costs for working Americans.

Trump's Big, Ugly Betrayal: Working Families Pay, Billionaires Profit. Learn about Trump’s so-called Big, Beautiful Bill, which sells out working people to reward billionaires, offshores our jobs, and guts the protections union members have fought for.

Democracy Forward Response Center. Real-time analysis of Trump-Vance administration actions; the center offers ways to support legal challenges and provide resources for the pro-democracy community.

Federal Policy Watch. This online tool documents and explains the actions taken by the Trump administration regarding immigration, workers' rights, unions and organizing, race and gender equity, jobs and wages, health and safety, retirement security, trade, taxes and attacks on regulations.

Center for American Progress. The Center for American Progress breaks down the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, detailing how its deep cuts to Medicaid and Medicare will lead to loss of benefits, increased paperwork requirements, and rural hospital closures that will hurt Americans—especially people with disabilities.

Kaiser Family Foundation. This collection of KFF resources breaks down healthcare provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. United for Medical Research. This interactive map shows the impact of National Institutes of Health funding in different states and what the states will lose in medical research funding by state.

American Community Survey Project. This database breaks down the number of federal workers in congressional districts, counties and metro areas across the country, using data from the American Community Survey.

How You Can Protect Democracy sets out 29 concrete actions you can take right now to protect democracy.