Money for groups that receive grants through AmeriCorps is flowing again, closely following an amended complaint filed by AFSCME Local 2027 and partners challenging this administration’s reckless cuts to federal funding and workers.
AFSCME Local 2027’s litigation has already led to AmeriCorps canceling plans to terminate hundreds of its staff.
The grant funding was restored following a reversal by the administration. The reversal follows an expanded lawsuit by AmeriCorps grantees, service members, and the AmeriCorps Employees Union AFSCME Local 2027 challenging the administration’s withholding of hundreds of millions of dollars by the Office of Management and Budget.
The restored funding will pay for tutoring, disaster relief, and public health support. These programs would’ve been either scaled back or eliminated without the grants. Here’s a press release with more details.
AmeriCorps describes itself as a “federal agency for national service and volunteerism” that works with vulnerable communities in six broad areas.
“We’re thrilled that more federal funding is finally being released to AmeriCorps. Our members who work for the agency look forward to continuing our collective mission to strengthen America’s communities and ensure no working family gets left behind, as we also continue our efforts for the agency to have the staff it needs to succeed,” said Kelly Daly, president of Local 2027 (District Council 20).
Plaintiffs in the case included Local 2027 and a host of organizations who help carry out AmeriCorps’s national service mission. They were represented by Democracy Forward, Democracy Defenders Fund, and Lowell & Associates.