Public Employees | March 2025

AFT’s federal employees hit hard by Trump chaos

The destruction of vital federal services for millions of Americans has begun. President Donald Trump has launched a vindictive, erratic and often illegal series of moves intended to demolish the federal government. Aided by his unelected henchman Elon Musk, Trump locked some workers out of their offices and fired others using dismissal letters that falsely accused them of incompetence. In the middle of this mess stand 5,500 members of the Federation of Indian Service Employees, an AFT affiliate representing workers at four federal agencies serving Native Americans. Read about their mobilization to stop this insanity.

Medicaid cuts could destroy communities

Schools, hospitals and communities across the country could face devastating consequences if Congress moves forward with plans to cut Medicaid funding by $880 billion, according to our union leaders. The proposed cuts—part of a broader federal budget plan—would directly threaten access to basic healthcare for millions of Americans, including children, older Americans, college students, low-income families and people with disabilities. In a partisan vote, the GOP-led House of Representatives passed a budget resolution that will jeopardize about 70 million Americans who rely on Medicaid. The AFT is urging us to contact our representatives and demand they protect Medicaid. Find resources to help members here.

Fighting for science, research and cures

Hands off our research! Hands off our healthcare! Hands off our jobs! The message rang out loud and clear at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., Feb. 25, where scientists, researchers and other workers rallied against deep cuts the Trump administration has been making to medical research. It’s just one way AFT members are pushing back against attacks that harm not only researchers but also the millions of Americans who rely on their work for treatments and cures for everything from cancer to diabetes to Alzheimer’s disease.

AFT-Maryland defends state schools for the deaf

Hundreds of union workers from across Maryland joined a rally on Monday at the state capital in Annapolis, calling on lawmakers to pass worker safety and other legislation supporting labor, CBS reported. Union leaders spoke to one of the largest of these annual rallies ever held as state employees chanted to members of the General Assembly: “Do not cut Maryland School for the Deaf. ... Do not sell out our public employees,” Kenya Campbell, president of AFT-Maryland, told union members carrying signs and wearing their union regalia. “Invest in workers, stand with workers, protect our workers, listen to our workers.”

Protecting pension investments by taking on Tesla

Given mounting concerns about Tesla’s valuation and potential material impact on public employees’ pension portfolios and retirement savings, the AFT is asking for a response from asset managers detailing their firms’ assessment of the automaker’s current valuation and the steps they are taking to protect AFT members who are their clients and beneficiaries. Read AFT President Randi Weingarten’s letter to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and watch her interview on CNBC.

Every safety regulation is written in blood

We owe federal safety rules to workers who died for the protections we have today. A recent issue of Wonkette shares the story of Frances Perkins, a labor activist so horrified by the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that she committed herself to improving labor laws. In 1934, as secretary of labor, she created the Bureau of Labor Standards, which in 1971 became the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “These laws weren’t handed to us—they were won through relentless struggle, and they remain under constant threat,” says Darlene Williams, a vice president of the New York State Public Employees Federation. “Our fight is not just to enforce the standards that exist but to push for stronger protections. No worker should have to risk their life to earn a living.”

Book Club on demand: ‘Democracy in Retrograde’

You can still catch last month’s AFT Book Club session featuring AFT President Randi Weingarten and Sami Sage, co-founder of Betches Media and New York Times bestselling author of Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives. During this conversation, Sage shared her perspective on today’s political landscape and how you can create change. Drawing from her book, co-authored with Emily Amick, Sage discussed how civic engagement can be a form of self-care and personal empowerment, making activism more accessible and relatable.