Cross Cultural Solidarity

History in the Service of Solidarity

Federal Workers Organizing Against Trump

This page is part of a resource collection on organizing against the second Trump administration.

Image from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

News: 2025

January 27.   Cayden Mak: Organizing Federal Workers to Protect Democracy.

February 2.   The New York Times: How Federal Employees Are Fighting Back Against Elon Musk: Some civil servants are using whatever levers they have to resist the orders of the world’s richest man, both in public and behind closed doors.

February 18.   Allison Gill: Letter From a Federal Worker.

February 22.   New York Times: How Federal Employees Are Fighting Back Against Elon Musk.

February 24.   PBS News: Federal workers sue over Elon Musk’s threat to fire them if they don’t explain their accomplishments.

February 25.   AP News: Federal technology staffers resign rather than help Musk and DOGE.

February 26.   Chris Stein: Fired USAid workers and HIV activists hold ‘die-in’ to protest Trump and Musk.

February 27.   Daniel Hunter: We’re seeing the beginnings of mass noncompliance: Over a million federal workers refused to comply with Musk’s email ultimatum last week, offering a glimpse of what mass noncooperation can look like.

March 2.   Allan Smith: ‘They’ve radicalized me’: Federal workers fight back as Trump dismantles their work.

March 2.   Daniel Hunter: We’re Seeing The Beginnings Of Mass Noncompliance: Over a million federal workers refused to comply with Musk’s email ultimatum last week, offering a glimpse of what mass noncooperation can look like.

March 6.   Daniel Wiessner: US federal workers hit back at Trump mass firings with class action complaints.

April 1.   Democracy Now! Workers vs. Musk: Federal Unions Resist Attacks on Bargaining Rights & Cuts to Essential Services.

May 18.   Sarah D. Wire: These fired federal employees are considering running for public office.

June 25.   Chris Dols & Alissa Tafti: Federal Workers Are Organizing for Democracy—from the Inside Out.

June 30.   Associated Press: EPA employees sign ‘declaration of dissent’ over agency moves under Trump: More than 170 EPA employees signed letter, with about 100 more signing anonymously out of fear of retaliation.

August 25.   Brianna Sacks: FEMA staffers warn that Trump officials’ actions risk a Katrina-level disaster: About 180 FEMA employees, many of them anonymous, signed a letter to Congress arguing that the agency’s leadership has hindered its ability to effectively manage emergencies.

August 28.   Brandy Zadrozny: CDC employees walk out to rally in support of ousted leaders.

August 28.   The Washington Post: CDC leaders who resigned said RFK Jr. undermined vaccine science, risking lives.