For Immediate Release
Contact: Zach Hudson
Email: zhudson@afscme.org

Unions File Temporary Restraining Order to Block Trump Administration’s Threatened Mass Firings of Federal Workers

AFSCME, AFGE ask court to block potential Trump firings

SAN FRANCISCO – The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the American Federation of Government Employees filed a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on October 4, 2025, to block the Trump administration's threatened imminent mass firings of federal workers in response to the shutdown of the federal government.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the TRO follows the lawsuit filed by AFSCME and AFGE last week, which asserts that the Office of Management and Budget, through its Director Russ Vought, has violated the law by directing that federal agencies conduct mass firings of federal workers during the shutdown. The lawsuit also names as defendants the Office of Personnel Management and its Director Scott Kupor, which issued unlawful and unprecedented instructions that federal employees may perform work during the federal government shutdown in order to carry out mass RIFs, and an amended complaint filed simultaneously with the TRO adds as defendants federal agencies where mass layoffs could occur.

AFSCME and AFGE are represented by Altshuler Berzon LLP, Democracy Forward, and the Democracy Defenders Fund.

“These threatened mass firings are the latest attack on working people by an administration abusing its power to push through its extreme Project 2025 agenda,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “We’re facing a health care crisis with millions of Americans about to see their health insurance payments skyrocket, and instead of working across the aisle to solve it, the administration is threatening to use its orchestrated shutdown as an excuse to fire federal workers who perform critical services that Americans rely on. The threatened mass firings are unlawful. Public service work is vital to our communities, and we will do everything in our power to defend it.”

“Announcing plans to fire potentially tens of thousands of federal employees simply because Congress and the administration are at odds on funding the government past the end of the fiscal year is not only illegal – it’s immoral and unconscionable,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. “Federal employees dedicate their careers to public service – more than a third are military veterans – and the contempt being shown them by this administration is appalling.”

“The President thinks no one is watching him or that the shutdown means that he can get away with his lawlessness undetected, but yet again we are holding him accountable. President Trump has now embraced Project 2025 publicly -- confirming what we have long said -- and the targeting of federal workers is yet another step out of that playbook. Civil servants do the work of the people and playing games with their livelihoods is cruel and unlawful. We will continue to go to court to stop abuses of power and protect the American people,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward.

 
“Donald Trump's and his administration's rampant lawlessness continues, and so must the effort to hold him accountable,” said Norm Eisen, executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund. “The administration's latest outrage against the Constitution and human decency is abusing the government shutdown to put in motion the firing of government workers. But Trump and his team have no such legal authority. On the contrary, Congress has dictated strict limits for personnel matters during a shutdown and the president and the administration are  trampling them. We are seeking emergency relief in response. The federal courts have served as a bulwark against prior illegalities and we look forward to a hearing here.”
 
“The law plainly does not permit this Administration’s scheme to order mass firings across the federal government for their own political advantage, including by illegally keeping federal employees working during a government shutdown to carry out the firing of their fellow employees.  This Administration must obey the law, and the Plaintiffs have moved for emergency relief to hold it accountable,” said Robin Tholin of Altshuler Berzon LLP.

AFSCME's 1.4 million members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in communities across the nation, serving in hundreds of different occupations — from nurses to corrections officers, child care providers to sanitation workers — AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and freedom and opportunity for all working families.

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American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
1625 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036-5687
Telephone: (202) 429-1145
Fax: (202) 429-1120

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