During the first week of the new Trump administration, more than two million federal workers in the country were struck by rapid announcements that long -standing employment protections and telework were suddenly revoked. The second week brought a sort of carrot: an offer that federal employees could continue to draw wages and benefits in late September if they agreed to resign by February 6.
The administration and his supporters deceived the proposal, with the billionaire Elon Musk, whom President Trump typed to redo the government, describing it as “very generous”.
But for many workers, it was anything but. Some have seen the offer as inapplicable, if not illegal, and the federal employees and the union’s leaders described it as another front of the administration’s non-scareness campaign to obtain as much as possible to leave.
What remains to be seen is not whether some will leave the federal service, because many have already started to seek other jobs, but instead of the number and what their departures would mean for the government’s ability to assume its responsibilities.
“Quality will decrease,” said Everett Kelley, president of the US Federation of Government employees, the largest federal employee union. “Because it is the people who have this expertise. And when the quality begins to decrease, what can you do with others in addition to saying: “The federal government has failed us”. »»
He and others fear an exodus of experienced workers: more than a quarter of federal employees are 55 years old, according to the Pew Research Center. More than half holds a baccalaureate or advanced diplomas. At the American Agency for International Development, which has been a particular target in recent days, two thirds of the more than 4,600 employees have doctorates, masters or other advanced diplomas, according to Pew.
