American Federation of Government Employees

Rule Changes

Lead plaintiff against the rule

About 8,000 senior federal workers woke up on June 3 with a different job than the one they had the day before. President Trump signed an order moving them into a new category, Schedule Policy/Career, that lets agencies fire them without the usual process.

Updated Jun 5

Rule Changes

Continuing litigation while fighting agency contract cancellations; won partial First Circuit ruling in May 2026 on VA contract termination

Donald Trump's March 2025 order stripping collective bargaining rights from most of the federal workforce has largely survived in court. By April 2026, agencies across the government had begun canceling union contracts, including the entire Defense Department.

Updated Jun 4

Rule Changes

Opposing workforce reductions

For decades, roughly 1,250 Social Security field offices operated as independent mini-agencies, each staffed with employees who knew their local communities and state-specific rules. On March 7, 2026, the Social Security Administration replaced that model with two centralized systems that route beneficiaries to any available representative anywhere in the country. When a retiree in Maine calls about a claim, they may now speak with an employee in Arizona who has never handled that state's rules.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

Lead plaintiff in lawsuit challenging USAID shutdown

Hours after taking office on January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order freezing all U.S. foreign aid for 90 days. Stop-work orders shuttered HIV clinics in Ivory Coast, refugee camps lost infrastructure support, and 3.8 million women lost access to contraceptive care.

Updated May 19