As the government shutdown stretches into its fifth week and the administration tries to eliminate more federal workers, a disturbing trend is emerging: the toll being taken on Black women who work for the federal government is mounting.
Nearly 12% of federal workers are Black women. That’s twice their share of the total workforce in the United States. Those federal jobs have historically offered a path to the middle class: a more stable career, often with union representation, as well as better wages, and a more secure retirement than private-sector jobs.
However, since the beginning of this administration, nearly 300,000 black women have left the labor force in both the public and private sectors. And the unemployment rate for Black women workers has climbed.
The administration has made major cuts to federal agencies that employ women, like the Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development and the Veterans Administration. And the shutdown brings with it another wave of reductions-in-force (which AFSCME has temporarily halted), only making the problem worse.
The administration has also fulfilled its Project 2025 promise of gutting collective bargaining rights for federal workers.
Belonging to a union makes a huge difference for workers in terms of wages, benefits and retirement. But the difference is especially profound for Black women, who earn on average 12.6% more than their nonunion counterparts, even as the overall wage gap for Black women grows wider.
The ripple effect for Black women who’ve lost jobs in the federal government extends to their communities, as well.
That is why AFSCME remains committed to fighting back against this billionaire-run administration’s attacks on workers, their union rights, their health care, and public services.
Through our Get Organized campaign, or AFSCME GO, we are mobilizing to fight the all-out assault on working families.