Oct. 28, 2026
Media contact: Dorie Turner Nolt, dorie.turner@gmail.com, 404-861-1127
Washington, D.C. — American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252, which represents about 2,000 current and former employees at the U.S. Department of Education, today filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) about unsafe working conditions at the federal building that houses the agency’s regional office in Chicago.
“The public servants in this building deal with unclean drinking water, faulty elevators, unsafe electrical work and an insect infestation. It is unacceptable to expect professionals to work in an unsafe environment where their health and safety are at risk,” said AFGE Local 252 President Rachel Gittleman. “We call on U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon to work with the General Services Administration to immediately address these hazardous conditions and ensure all federal employees have a safe, healthy workplace, no matter where they are located.”
The OSHA complaint concerns about 50 Education Department employees that work in the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building in Chicago, where there have been multiple instances of Legionella bacteria in the drinking water since 2023. The bacteria can lead to Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia. In July, a federal judge working in the courthouse next door said he was hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease-like symptoms.
In the same building this month, an elevator carrying an Education Department employee reportedly malfunctioned while traveling from the 39th floor to the second floor. The employee reported that the elevator shook forcefully and appeared to descend at an increasingly rapid and uncontrolled speed. The employee has experienced severe emotional distress as a result. Because of the incident, some employees now take the stairs to the 37th and 39th floors rather than risk a ride in the elevator.
This is not the first time the union has had to fight an unsafe working environment for its members. In March, AFGE Local 252 filed an OSHA complaint about unsafe working conditions at the U.S. Department of Labor offices in Washington, D.C., where the Trump Administration has forced 125 Education Department workers to move as part of unlawful and inefficient interagency agreements. Despite the union continuing to receive complaints about air quality, vermin and inadequate water systems at the Labor Department building, OSHA said the agency does not need to take further action on the building’s working conditions.
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The American Federation of Government Employees Local 252 is the labor union representing about 2,000 dedicated public servants at the U.S. Department of Education employees—fired, retired, and still fighting.