Department of People Who Work for a Living
DPWL recently held nationwide hearings to amplify workers' voices on federal policy. Participants expressed deep concern over cuts to federal jobs and services, criticizing the Trump administration’s disregard for civil servants and attacks on protections for working people.
Federal unions—and all unions—are under attack.
The Trump administration took its most blatantly anti-worker, anti-union action yet: an executive order stripping the right to organize from hundreds of thousands of federal workers at more than 30 agencies. If President Trump can cancel union contracts, no worker in America is safe.

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6/21 Labor Walk for Sean Ryan after Buffalo United Rally!
Learn More >6/21 Labor Walk for Sean Ryan after Buffalo United Rally!
Details
Join the Buffalo Central Labor Council in support of our endorsed candidate for Buffalo Mayor — Sean Ryan! Democratic Primary Election Day is coming up fast and we need every union member to step up and help us reach as many union voters in the City of Buffalo as possible. Join our canvassing efforts to educate and mobilize labor union households ahead of June 24th. Sean Ryan fights for working people, and as a state legislator he has a proven record of advocating for the issues that working families care about most. Make a difference and sign-up for a canvassing shift today!
Date
Sat, Jun 21 @ 1:00PM
Location:
Hosted by New York State AFL-CIO
271 Porter Ave
Buffalo, NY 14201
6/22 Labor Walk for Sean Ryan - FINAL Day of Early Vote!
Learn More >6/22 Labor Walk for Sean Ryan - FINAL Day of Early Vote!
Details
Join the Buffalo Central Labor Council in support of our endorsed candidate for Buffalo Mayor — Sean Ryan! **This event location is TBD. Sign-up today and details will be shared soon!** Democratic Primary Election Day is coming up fast and we need every union member to step up and help us reach as many union voters in the City of Buffalo as possible. Join our canvassing efforts to educate and mobilize labor union households ahead of June 24th. Sean Ryan fights for working people, and as a state legislator he has a proven record of advocating for the issues that working families care about most. Make a difference and sign-up for a canvassing shift today!
Date
Sun, Jun 22 @ 12:00PM
Location:
Hosted by New York State AFL-CIO
2421 Main St Suite 120
Buffalo, NY 14214
6/23 Labor for Sean Ryan - Walk or Phone Bank!
Learn More >6/23 Labor for Sean Ryan - Walk or Phone Bank!
Details
Join the Buffalo Central Labor Council in support of our endorsed candidate for Buffalo Mayor — Sean Ryan! **For this event, phone banking will be available virtually or in-person all day, and Labor walk lists will also be available out of the WNY Area Labor Federation offices for union households across the City of Buffalo!** Democratic Primary Election Day is coming up fast and we need every union member to step up and help us reach as many union voters in the City of Buffalo as possible. Join our voter contact efforts to educate and mobilize labor union households ahead of June 24th. Sean Ryan fights for working people, and as a state legislator he has a proven record of advocating for the issues that working families care about most. Make a difference and sign-up for a phone banking shift today!
Date
Mon, Jun 23 @ 8:00AM
Location:
Hosted by New York State AFL-CIO
2421 Main St Suite 120
Buffalo, NY 14214
6/24 Election Day - Labor for Sean Ryan!
Learn More >6/24 Election Day - Labor for Sean Ryan!
Details
Join the Buffalo Central Labor Council in support of our endorsed candidate for Buffalo Mayor — Sean Ryan! **For this event, phone banking will be available virtually or in-person all day, and Labor walk lists will also be available out of the WNY Area Labor Federation offices for union households across the City of Buffalo!** Democratic Primary Election Day is coming up fast and we need every union member to step up and help us reach as many union voters in the City of Buffalo as possible. Join our voter contact efforts to educate and mobilize labor union households ahead of June 24th. Sean Ryan fights for working people, and as a state legislator he has a proven record of advocating for the issues that working families care about most. Make a difference and sign-up for a phone banking shift today!
Date
Tue, Jun 24 @ 8:00AM
Location:
Hosted by New York State AFL-CIO
2421 Main St Suite 120
Buffalo, NY 14214
AFT Massachusetts Lobby Day!
Learn More >AFT Massachusetts Lobby Day!
Details
Join fellow AFT Massachusetts members from across the Commonwealth for our 2025 legislative lobby day! What’s a lobby day, you ask? It’s a fun and easy way for members to gather in community and win support from our elected officials for key legislation that we’re fighting to pass to secure support and funding for our schools, our retirees, and our paraprofessionals. We’ll chat with legislators and their staff to share our experience and expertise as educators—you’ll be trained and supported throughout the day! There is nothing more powerful than your story. Legislators need to hear from our members about exactly how legislation before them this session could transform our lives and our schools. Children of all ages welcome! Childcare will be provided for kids who don’t want to join for legislators meetings (though it’s wonderful for them to join!). Breakfast and lunch will be provided. RSVP today!
Date
Wed, Jun 25 @ 9:30AM
Location:
Hosted by AFT
Massachusetts State House
24 Beacon St Room 428
Boston, MA 02133
Cleveland Rally to Support the VA
Learn More >Cleveland Rally to Support the VA
Details
Come join us as we rally to support the VA, its workers and the veterans it serves. It is crucial we continue to send a message to those in Washington that our veterans matter.
Date
Fri, Jun 20 @ 3:00PM
Location:
Hosted by Ohio AFL-CIO
Public Space at Lou Stokes VA Clinic
10701 East Blvd
Cleveland, OH 44106
Join Us For E-Dues Phone Banking in Louisville
Learn More >Join Us For E-Dues Phone Banking in Louisville
Details
Join us in Louisville with the Kentucky AFL-CIO and area locals as we phone bank to get members on E-Dues!
Date
Mon, Jun 23 @ 10:00AM
Location:
Hosted by American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)
UAW Hall Local 862
3000 Fern Valley Rd
Louisville, KY 40213
Join Us to Fight for VA Workers and Veterans in Cleveland
Learn More >Join Us to Fight for VA Workers and Veterans in Cleveland
Details
Join us in Cleveland as we come together with AFGE Local President Darryll Bell, Veterans Assurance Founder Tim Hauser, and local elected officials to rally and fight for and protect VA workers and veterans.
Date
Fri, Jun 20 @ 3:00PM
Location:
Hosted by American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)
Outside Cleveland VA Medical Center
East 105th Street & Martin Luther King Junior Drive
Cleveland, OH 44106
Labor Walk for Jenn Puja
Learn More >Labor Walk for Jenn Puja
Details
We’re hitting the streets to support a true champion of working people — Jenn Puja. Join us for a Labor Walk on Saturday, 6/21. Arrive at 9:30AM for food and to gather materials. We will launch at 10AM. Together, we’ll knock doors, talk with voters, and help elect a candidate who fights for the rights of every working family. Bring your energy and your walking shoes!
Date
Sat, Jun 21 @ 9:30AM
Location:
Hosted by New York State AFL-CIO
595 Hartsdale Ave.
White Plains, NY 10607
Labor for Puja Canvass
Learn More >Labor for Puja Canvass
Details
We’re hitting the streets to support a true champion of working people — Jenn Puja. Join us for a Labor Walk on Saturday, 6/21. Arrive for food and to gather materials for our 10 am walk; 9:30am arrival for food and to gather materials. Together, we’ll knock doors, talk with voters, and help elect a candidate who fights for the rights of every working family. Bring your energy and your walking shoes!
Date
Sat, Jun 21 @ 9:30AM
Location:
Hosted by New York State AFL-CIO
595 Hartsdale Ave.
White Plains, NY 10607
March with Labor at the 2025 Twin Cities LGBTQ+ Pride March
Learn More >March with Labor at the 2025 Twin Cities LGBTQ+ Pride March
Details
Join the members of Minnesota AFL-CIO affiliated unions as we walk in the 2025 Twin Cities LGBTQ+ Pride March! Bring your fellow union members, wear your union’s banners and colors and let’s make sure Labor is well-represented as we fight for all workers to be treated with dignity and respect no matter who they are or who they love. Be sure to RSVP so we can share our lineup location once it's assigned.
Date
Sun, Jun 29 @ 12:00PM
Location:
Hosted by Minnesota AFL-CIO
Downtown Minneapolis
Minneapolis, MN 55402
NYSNA Labor Walk for Manna-Jo Greene in Cottekill!
Learn More >NYSNA Labor Walk for Manna-Jo Greene in Cottekill!
Details
Join NYSNA to get out the vote for Union Strong candidate Manna-Jo Greene for Ulster County Legislature, District 19!
Date
Sat, Jun 21 @ 10:00AM
Location:
Hosted by New York State AFL-CIO
1925 Lucas Ave Ext
Cottekill, NY 12419
OSU Nurses Organization Informational Picket
Learn More >OSU Nurses Organization Informational Picket
Details
Come support Siblings in the Ohio State University Nurses Organization at their informational picket as they fight for workplace safety, improved staffing ratios and the retention of high-quality nurses and staff.
Date
Wed, Jun 25 @ 11:00AM
Location:
Hosted by Ohio AFL-CIO
Front Lawn Outside University Hospital
410 W 10th Ave
Columbus, OH 43210
Portage County Rally For Our Postal Service
Learn More >Portage County Rally For Our Postal Service
Details
Come join us as we rally to protect our postal service from the Trump Administration, Republicans in Congress and DOGE as they try to gut our postal service so billionaires and hedge funds can privatize it for personal profits. We will also be collecting school supplies and personal products for kids in Portage County.
Date
Sat, Jun 21 @ 1:00PM
Location:
Hosted by Ohio AFL-CIO
Public Space in front of Ravenna Post Office
150 N Chestnut St
Ravenna, OH 44266
Revitalizing the Midstate Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Learn More >Revitalizing the Midstate Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Details
The Central New York Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO is bringing affiliate members in Tompkins and Cortland Counties to revitalize the Midstate Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Affiliate members are encouraged to attend to learn how they can become more involved!
Date
Mon, Jun 23 @ 6:00PM
Location:
Hosted by New York State AFL-CIO
129 Port Watson St
Cortland, NY 13045
SOLIDARITY FRIDAY EVENT
Learn More >SOLIDARITY FRIDAY EVENT
Details
The Nebraska State AFL-CIO and workers will be holding a Solidarity Event. This is a platform of working people, from many work sectors, expressing their views on the current administration's policies, the impact of those polices on their lives and what working people want from their government.
Date
Fri, Jun 20 @ 5:00PM
Location:
Hosted by Nebraska AFL-CIO
4625 Y St
Lincoln, NE 68503
Take action with AFL-CIO
Working people around the country are taking action. Check out these ways to get involved!
Issues
Navigate the issues below to learn how unelected billionaires and their agenda is affecting working people.
Federal Workers
Federal workers are the heart of our government, ensuring that critical services like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Department of Veterans Affairs, disaster relief and national defense run smoothly. They run our national parks, inspect our food and medicine, and keep us safe from crime, accidents and disasters.
Cuts to the federal workforce jeopardize these services, affecting millions of Americans who rely on the government to protect and secure their well-being.

Immigration
One in five workers in America wasn’t born here. Immigrants are America’s workers, vital to the fabric of our communities, our economy and our labor movement.
The labor movement supports comprehensive immigration reform that fully protects America’s workers, reduces the exploitation of immigrant workers and reduces employers’ incentive to hire undocumented workers rather than U.S. workers. But stoking fear about immigrants, raiding schools and hospitals, and mass deporting people whose labor makes our country prosper is not only a betrayal of our values—it’s also a recipe for economic disaster.

Labor Law
President Trump has effectively shut down the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The NLRB—usually led by five board members—holds union elections, investigates allegations, and resolves cases of wrongdoing brought by workers, unions or employers.
The president illegally fired a member of the labor board, Gwynne Wilcox—the first Black woman to serve on the NLRB. There are now only two sitting members of the board, which leaves it one member short of the minimum number needed for any decision-making. And by firing Wilcox, because he didn’t like her decisions, he destroyed the board’s independence.

Tax and Budget Policy
Proposed Spending Cuts Would Cut Workers’ Health Care and Jobs to Pay for Tax Cuts for the Rich
Budgets are about more than just dollars and cents listed on a spreadsheet—budgets are about our values. We saw Trump’s budget priorities during his last administration: billions in proposed cuts to Social Security. Billions in proposed cuts to Medicaid. Billions in proposed cuts to public schools. Billions in proposed cuts to food assistance programs.
At the same time, the last Trump administration had plenty of money for a tax bill in 2017 that delivered trillions of dollars in special tax breaks to billionaires and giant corporations. Now the Trump administration is looking to make those tax breaks for the rich and powerful permanent in 2025.

Where in the U.S. are government workers?
Where do government workers live? The answer may surprise you. While many assume most federal workers are based in the Washington, D.C., area, 85% of federal employees live throughout the country, with large concentrations in states like California, Texas, Florida and Georgia. Cuts would be felt nationwide, hurting local economies and services.
About one-third of federal workers are military veterans who continue to serve our country in these roles. Cuts to the federal workforce would immediately put thousands of veterans out of work.
In our own words
Click through the carousel to read the stories of ordinary workers who make our communities run, and see how they’re being affected by DOGE and the Trump administration’s executive orders.
We’re a military family and rely on workplace flexibility for me to keep my job. We are currently stationed in [redacted] and rely on two incomes to make ends meet.
They’re already affecting my work. We don’t have the resources to do what they want us to do and they demonize us every day.
As a federal employee, a hostile administration makes me fearful that my job could be terminated at the stroke of a pen. As the majority breadwinner, this would make us homeless in months.
As an Indigenous, disabled veteran, working with a hostile administration puts my work and my family’s life in jeopardy. I gave up my youth in service to this country, and to have that sacrifice dishonored by the people in D.C. is a punch in the gut.
I spent nine years in grad school, five years in post doc. I’ve wanted to work for [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] (NOAA) a long time. If I cared about money, I would have gone to Wall Street, but I care about our environment and our people. And NOAA provides a lot of services to Alaska, the rural and coastal communities here really get a lot of information from us, and I’m worried.
I'm sad that I lost my job. But I'm also sad I'm not going to be able to help these people anymore who desperately need it.
Trump’s gone on the attack against American workers, and we are watching hard-fought gains erode before our eyes.
I suffer from mental health issues, general anxiety, OCD and depression. Working from home, [I] was supported by my doctor and psychiatrist due to how it helped me cope and work. Now that is being taken away.
My job was updating the publicly accessible water data, which helped everything from topographic maps to conservation to agriculture, everything. Myself and 12 other probationary employees were let go... I was ONE week away from being off probation.
When my husband loses his job, I will not be able to support our family on my income....My entire paycheck just covers the cost of daycare for our 3-year-old son, who is also a budding naturalist and fisherman. The identity of our family is tied to the protection of the Great Lakes. Who will be there to protect 84% of North America's freshwater resources when we're gone?
I have 20 years of federal service that I’m terrified will be taken from me, destroying my retirement benefits. I have a family to support. I’m up all night with my PTSD, exasperated by the stress this man is causing me and so many others.
I have a nephew who served 4 years in Iraq, then, due to his outstanding service as leader of a battalion and at the request of the Army, he spent 4 years training other Army personnel in Germany instead of coming home. Once he completed the training, he came home and went to work for the EPA. Now he's received the notorious email requesting him to quit. This is not the respect or appreciation he deserves for serving his country in the finest fashion.
My mental health has been negatively impacted. I live in constant fear and instability. Constantly checking emails. Praying I’ll be able to keep my career I’ve worked so hard for and retirement.
I was terminated from my role as a Research Fish Biologist....It seems that fisheries science will no longer be valued in the U.S. This termination will also cost me and my family financially.
I work for a tribal college and university that is held in trust by the government....Because most faculty and staff were let go, this leaves our already underfunded, understaffed university vulnerable, and it’s certain we as a university will experience many negative impacts. Students will be most affected. The quality of education will go down, and the struggles we've already had and endured for generations will become even more unmanageable.
My brother and his wife made tremendous sacrifices to join USAID, leaving successful careers....They packed up their home, took their three young children and moved across the world, committed to making a difference. Less than a year later, they wake up to daily uncertainty. With little communication and even fewer instructions, they are left in limbo. We now have real concerns for their safety.
I am a behavioral health nurse....I’m terrified every day, my stomach hurts. I’ve even been having chest pains. How am I supposed to give my patients everything they deserve when I’m barely functioning myself? I would urge this administration to maybe sit down and speak to the government employees and see what they do and how important it is.
As a teacher of 30-plus years, my Pell Grant and other scholarships helped get me through college. The Department of Education should not be dismantled by Musk. We did not elect him, and you’re hurting our children and country.
I am a retired public school teacher and current volunteer tutor in a public school, and I am watching the plans to destroy the Department of Education. They don’t care about disadvantaged children like the ones I taught and still teach. It is painful to contemplate, and we all need to stand against it and the rest of the horrible actions they have taken for the benefit of billionaires.
I’m a public school teacher who cares passionately about the safety and well-being of my students. I’m sick and tired of this administration making up ridiculous lies about what is taught in schools when our goals are simply to create curious and joyful lifelong learners and responsible, compassionate members of society.
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