5 Things You Should Know

October 14, 2025

Categories: The Insider

As the federal government shutdown nears the two-week mark, here are five developments you should know:

1. AFGE, AFSCME File Motion to Block Mass Firing During Shutdown

AFGE and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) filed a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Oct. 4 to block the Trump administration's threatened mass firings of federal workers in response to the government shutdown.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the TRO builds on the lawsuit filed by AFGE and AFSCME on Sept. 30, which asserts that the Office of Management and Budget, through its Director Russell 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 reductions-in-force (RIFs).

“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,” President Kelley said. “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.”

On Oct. 10, Vought tweeted that the administration has begun issuing RIFs. As of this writing, more than 4,000 employees have received RIF notices including nearly 1,500 at the Treasury Department, 1,200 at the Health and Human Services Department, and about 450 each at the Education and Housing and Urban Development departments.

AFGE quickly condemned the mass firings and pointed back to the lawsuit we have already filed.

“We will not stop fighting until every reduction-in-force notice is rescinded,” Kelley said.

Hours after the first notices were issued, the administration raced to reverse the terminations of hundreds of scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who it said were wrongly targeted. They included the top two leaders of the federal measles response team, those working to contain Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, members of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, and the team that assembles the agency’s weekly morbidity and mortality report, the New York Times reported.

2. AFGE Leads Labor Call on Congress to Reopen Government Immediately

On Oct. 8, AFGE organized a press conference outside our D.C. headquarters with labor union leaders representing federal government and transportation workers to call on lawmakers to end the government shutdown immediately.

“Let me start with a simple truth: every day this government stays shut down, real people are hurting,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said. “So today, I call on leaders from both parties to sit down together, work out your differences, and find a solution that reflects the best of America, just like federal employees do every single day. I call on you today to put people over politics. Let’s end this shutdown and get back to the business of serving the American people – all together.”

Several leaders criticized the Trump administration, particularly Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, for suggesting that furloughed federal workers not be paid for the time they have been forced off the job.

“Despite what this OMB Director Russ Vought thinks, these are working families. These are working Americans that have families, that live paycheck to paycheck, that have to pay bills, have to put food on the table, and denying them a paycheck is simply cruel. It’s cruel,” said Matt Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), whose union represents more than 15,000 federal employees at the Department of Defense and other agencies.

Media outlets across the country are increasingly focused on the impact a prolonged shutdown will have on the aviation industry. Transportation security officers represented by AFGE and air traffic controllers represented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association are working without pay during the shutdown – adding more pressure to already stressful jobs, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) International President Sara Nelson said.

“Right now, TSA officers are coming to work making good on their oath to the constitution, to all of us, to keep us save. Air traffic controllers are coming to work, making good on their oath to the country, just like they do every single day, understaffed and under resourced by this government,” Nelson said. “They are coming to work under an increasingly unsafe scenario, because in safety we know that the first rule is to remove all distractions in order to keep things safe. What could be more of a distraction than not getting a paycheck?”Other participants at the press conference were National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) President Randy Erwin, Transportation Trades Department (TTD) President Greg Regan, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus, National Association of Government Employees (SEIU NAGE) Federal Director Lee Blackmon, and International Association of Fire Fighters Assistant to the General President for Government Affairs and Political Action Chris “Blue” Bartley.

3. AFGE Demands Administration Ensure Furloughed Feds Will Be Paid

The Trump administration hit a new low last week when reports surfaced that the White House was considering withholding the backpay of federal employees furloughed due to the government shutdown.

Withholding the pay of furloughed workers is an obvious violation of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, a law passed by Congress in 2019 following the unprecedented 35-day shutdown under Trump’s first term that guarantees back pay for federal employees furloughed in a shutdown. It also contradicts the administration’s own guidance, issued days before the current shutdown began, that clearly and correctly states that furloughed employees will receive retroactive pay for the time they were out of work as quickly as possible once the shutdown is over.

“As we’ve said before, the livelihoods of the patriotic Americans serving their country in the federal government are not bargaining chips in a political game. It’s long past time for these attacks on federal employees to stop and for Congress to come together, resolve their differences, and end this shutdown,” President Kelley said in a statement.

On Oct. 9, AFGE joined with the Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in sending a formal letter sent to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought demanding OMB’s confirmation that all furloughed workers will be paid when the shutdown ends.

“Given the clarity of the law, there is no place for the Administration to backpedal on its obligation to pay furloughed workers,” the letter states.

4. AFGE Sues Trump Administration Over Partisan Out-of-Office Emails

AFGE sued the Trump administration on Oct. 3 for forcing civil servants at the U.S. Department of Education to engage in partisan political rhetoric during the current federal shutdown.

Shortly after the shutdown began, the Department of Education replaced its employees’ out-of-office automatic email replies with partisan political language placing blame for the government shutdown. The changes were made without giving notice to the employees and without obtaining consent.

The Trump-Vance administration’s use of official government resources to push partisan messaging is both unprecedented and in violation of the First Amendment.

“Our union will not stand silent while President Trump and his political puppets blatantly violate the law in yet-another assault on federal workers’ rights,” President Kelley said.

The lawsuit was filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia. AFGE is represented by Democracy Forward and Public Citizen Litigation Group in the matter.

5. AFGE Backs Bills to Protect Feds Financially During Shutdown

AFGE has endorsed legislation introduced in the Senate and House that would protect federal workers, federal contractor employees, and their families from foreclosures, evictions, and loan defaults during a government shutdown.

The Federal Employees Civil Relief Act was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, with 17 original cosponsors. Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Reps. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., and Emily Randall, D-Wash.

“Right now, hundreds of thousands of federal workers, federal contractor employees, and their families don’t know whether they’ll be able to pay rent and make ends meet. Our bill will protect these workers and make sure they aren’t harmed during this shutdown,” Sen. Schatz said.

The legislation would protect furloughed federal workers from being evicted or foreclosed, having their car or other property repossessed, falling behind on their bills or student loan payments, having negative effects on their credit history, or losing their insurance because of missed premiums. The protection would last during a shutdown, and for 30 days thereafter, to give workers a chance to keep up with their bills.

“This bill provides essential protections for federal workers who, through no fault of their own, face severe financial hardship during a government shutdown. No public servant should be at risk of eviction, repossession, or losing health insurance simply because they are working without pay or furloughed,” President Kelley said.

For the latest shutdown news, visit www.afge.org/stoptheshutdown.