AFGE Local 252

Education department slashed in half after Trump administration mass firings

From The Guardian

The Trump administration has decimated the US Department of Education, firing more than 1,300 employees in a single day in what looks to be the first step toward abolishing the agency entirely.

The mass dismissal – delivered by email after most staff had left for the day on Tuesday – has slashed the department’s workforce by half. Along with voluntary departures and probationary firings, the agency that started 2025 with 4,133 staff now operates with an estimated 2,100 employees two months into Donald Trump’s presidency.

‘It was messy’: Federal workers ordered to return to offices without desks, Wi-Fi and lights

From CNN

Millions of federal workers were ordered to return to offices across the country in recent weeks, marking an end to Covid-era rules allowing more flexibility to work from home.

Many have come back to workplaces that weren’t ready for them.

In one Department of Health and Human Services office, there was no Wi-Fi or full electricity in the first hours when people returned last week.

Department of Education employees at an office in Dallas returned to ethernet cords in piles around the floor, random wires sticking out of walls, and motion-sensor lights that weren’t working correctly, leading to dark workspaces. One employee tripped over a pile of cords on her first day back, resulting in a large gash on her foot. She’s submitted a workers’ compensation complaint.

Texas federal workers on edge as Trump administration pursues mass firings

From Spectrum News 1 Austin

The Trump administration has fired thousands of federal employees and many more dismissals are on the way. The actions are part of a sweeping reduction and reorganization of the government. In Texas alone, tens of thousands of federal employees are on edge, worried about their future.

“I’m not going to sit there and say that I don’t check my account every day to make sure that I still have access,” said Brittany Coleman, chief steward for American Federation of Government Employees Local 252. “Based on what I’ve seen, there does not seem to be a rhyme or reason to being put on administrative leave. So it can happen to anyone at any time.”

‘On the backs of veterans’: Senators rail against federal workforce purge as vets hit hard by cuts

From Stars and Stripes

Marine Corps veteran Andrew Lennox was wrapping up his last day of online orientation as a newly hired administrative officer at Ann Arbor VA Healthcare System in Michigan, when his cell phone pinged alerting him to incoming email.

As a supervisor in primary care services at the medical center run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the 35-year-old former staff sergeant certified staff hours, handled equipment purchases and reviewed performance evaluations.

“I’ve loved my new job at the VA, and I have nothing but positive feedback,” Lennox said.

But when he scanned his messages Feb. 13, he saw a work email from Tracey Therit, the VA’s chief human capital officer. The message contained a formal letter stating his employment was no longer needed based on job performance. Lennox was fired, effectively immediately, after less than two months on the job.

Carson vet with disorder among terminated federal employees

From Nevada Appeal

Carson City resident and Navy reservist Chelsea Milburn found her dream job last fall with the U.S. Department of Education as a public affairs specialist. She would write and edit in a team mostly consisting of other veterans serving the public in communications work.

But it came to a swift end after three months when President Donald Trump’s administration began firing probationary employees.

The terminations of thousands represented multiple federal agencies. Probationary workers were dismissed since they had fewer protections and could not appeal.

Fired Education Department workers speak out

From Politico

Terminated employees of the Education Department are sorting through the aftermath of a Trump administration crackdown on federal workers that continues to reverberate across the country and the courts this week.

Agency workers who spoke with Weekly Education after they were fired alongside thousands of government employees last week are expressing concern about the potential impact on students with disabilities, student loan borrowers and those who live in rural communities. Others plan to appeal their terminations.

AFGE Local 252 Members Speak on Trumpland with Alex Wagner Podcast

From Apple Podcasts

The Trump administration continues to further its anti-woke agenda with executive orders targeting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) initiatives, resulting in a memo placing federal employees with ties to DEIA training or roles on administrative leave. Listen as Alex Wagner interviews affected employees from the Department of Education and discusses the implications with civil rights attorney Subodh Chandra.

Trump Starts Mass Firings Across Federal Agencies: What to Know

From Newsweek

Mass firings have begun across multiple federal agencies, according to reports.

Newsweek has emailed the Department of Education, the Small Business Administration, the U.S. General Services Administration, and the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for comment.

These would be the first layoffs carried out by the Trump administration as part of its plan to dramatically cut down the size of the federal workforce. Until now, federal employees across all government agencies had only been placed on paid administrative leave.

Education Department moves to fire civil servants

From Politico

The Education Department terminated a swath of its civil service workforce on Wednesday, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

The precise number of affected employees was not immediately clear. Firing notices were distributed to workers in the department’s offices for civil rights, federal student aid and communications, as well as its legal department, according to people who relayed details and documents that substantiated the terminations to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.

Federal employee layoffs begin at Education Department as DOGE tries to shrink government

From CBS News

The Education Department made department-wide cuts on Wednesday, including in its civil rights office, according to multiple sources familiar with the move, a day after President Trump said he’d like to see the department eliminated.

The terminations were primarily sent to newer probationary employees hired within the last year, sources said. Layoff letters were emailed to employees Tuesday. The letters informed employees that they could appeal their firing to the Merit Systems Protection Board if they felt they had been terminated “for partisan political reasons or because of your marital status.”