| Friend, Today is May Day, an international holiday celebrating the power of labor and collective action. May Day this year is more important than ever, because Donald Trump’s administration is doing everything to weaken that power. Hundreds of San Franciscan federal health workers found themselves unemployed last month when the federal government shut down the city's Department of Health and Human Services office.(1) They joined over 120,000 federal employees nationwide laid off by the Trump administration in the past four months, with those still employed facing chaos and uncertainty in the workplace.(2) And the Trump administration’s attack on federal workers goes much deeper than simply firing people. On March 27, Trump signed an executive order eliminating collective bargaining rights for federal employees. In California, that means that 147,487 federal employees lost a key source of protection from workplace abuse and harassment.(3)
Federal workers form the backbone of our government. They perform essential services from administering social security benefits to caring for our parks. And while they are unionized, they already face limitations to their ability to organize. Federal workers can’t go on strike or bargain over things like wages or benefits because these are laws set by Congress. What federal unions can do is help workers address workplace issues without fear of retaliation and without disrupting the work of the federal government. Even Republicans in Congress seem to see that this assault on essential government workers has gone too far, with five House Republicans signing on to this bill.(4) With 192 co-sponsors, this bill needs only 26 more supporters to pass the House. If we speak out, we can force our members of Congress to sign on and pass this bill, sending a much-needed lifeline to federal workers in crisis. Thank you for being in the fight! –Irene, along with Annie, Angela, Isidra, Cecilia, Jen, and Lindsay (the Courage team)
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