In response to recent cuts to the Federal workforce, one association representing government workers is accelerating its legal, advocacy, and marketing activities.

The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) has been developing a response to cuts and changes to Federal workers under the Trump administration, including the planned firing of 16,000 probationary employees.

That action threatens NARFE’s membership base, said President William Shackelford. “We’ve been chartered to protect the rights and benefits of not only active employees but retirees, but the administration threw a curve at us when they started removing probationary people,” he said. “At the time, those people were eligible to join NARFE because they were moving forward in their chosen career, then all of a sudden, boom, it’s done.”

In the first 100 days [of the Trump administration], we’ve had an increase in membership of over 4,000 members.

William Shackelford, NARFE

But though the Federal workforce is being reduced, employees looking for a support system in response to the cuts have increased NARFE membership. “In the first 100 days [of the Trump administration], we’ve had an increase in membership of over 4,000 members,” Shackelford said. “On average, we see an increase of around 3,000 or so per year.”

That energy has prompted NARFE to sign on as plaintiffs to a pair of lawsuits addressing the workforce cuts. In February, it joined a group of unions including the American Federation of Teachers and the National Federation of Federal Employees arguing that three federal agencies improperly disclosed protected employee data to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an ad hoc group charged with trimming the federal workforce under the White House’s imprimatur. NARFE and the other plaintiffs argue that DOGE lacks the proper authorization to access that data. 

The second suit addresses a White House executive order reinstating the “Schedule F” classification for federal employees, which NARFE and other unions have argued make it easier for the administration to make politically based firings and represents a potential violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.

Both cases are ongoing. “They are dismantling groups and departments, agencies, whichever it might be that Congress set up that they really can’t—at least that’s our standard,” Shackelford said. “We’ll have to see how far up the judicial line it goes.”

In the meantime, NARFE is gathering as many stories as it can about federal workers who’ve been affected by the cuts. It recently launched an awareness campaign, Fed Up, encouraging employees to join NARFE and share their story at one of the association’s upcoming chapter meetings. It intends to encourage its 800 chapters to create “open house” events where employees can share stories and brainstorm responses. 

Protecting the anonymity of those employees in a stressful time is paramount, Shackelford said. “Chapters will invite people who are either active employees still, or those who have been impacted by some of the actions of the administration—come in, tell your story, let us know what’s going on,” he said. “But we also make it very clear, particularly to those that are still working, that if we use your story, you’re going to be a Jane Doe or John Doe, and that way we’re not going to invite retaliation toward you.”

[istock/mediaphotos]