Philly’s federal workers are worried about job security and government services amid Trump administration shakeups

When federal workers received a memo from the U.S. government’s human resources agency this week offering the chance to resign with eight months’ pay, some thought it might be spam.

“Once you determine whether it’s real or not, it’s kind of like, what is this?” said Philip Glover, national vice president for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) District 3. His union represents about 9,400 federal workers in and near Philadelphia, among some 800,000 across the U.S. and abroad.

In a memo to federal workers Tuesday, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offered a “deferred resignation.” Those who agree, by Feb. 6, to leave their jobs will retain all pay and benefits — and an exemption from Trump-era in-person work mandates — until Sept. 30.

Those who pass up the offer do not have “full assurance” that their position or agency will continue to exist, according to the memo.

The memo is one in a series of directives under President Donald Trump’s second administration aimed at overhauling federal agencies. Trump signed several executive orders on his first day in office to freeze hiring, bring federal workers back to in-person work full time, and end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in federal government.

» READ MORE: Donald Trump’s executive orders are likely to have a tangible impact on Philadelphia’s federal workers

The Inquirer spoke with union leaders and local federal workers from across several agencies, some on the basis of anonymity due to fear of retaliation in the workplace. Several said Trump’s executive orders and the resignation memo have caused anxiety, distrust in the federal government, and confusion about the future of their jobs. They’re also concerned that essential government services could suffer.

Typically, the leaders of federal agencies communicate with their own employees directly. Federal workers receiving an email from OPM was “very odd” said Glover.

Some noticed how the memo’s title — Fork in the Road — mimicked the subject line in Elon Musk’s email to Twitter employees when the billionaire took over.

The recent directives jibe with the goals of the “Department of Government Efficiency,” led by Musk, who has been tasked with identifying and eradicating what’s deemed to be wasteful spending, including shrinking the federal workforce.

The memo marked a major shift from the federal government’s usual “level of formality,” said Marie Owens Powell, president of AFGE’s Council 238 which represents over 8,500 EPA employees across the country.

“Seeing something that’s literally called ‘Fork in the Road’ was not what one would expect, whatsoever,” said Powell.

The OPM has said it intends to shrink a majority of federal agencies through “restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force,” according to the offer notice. The memo also says federal workers should be “reliable, loyal, trustworthy” and that “performance standards will be updated to reward and promote those that exceed expectations.”

“I don’t feel real good about this loyalty test that they’re pushing forward,” said Glover.

The OPM did not respond to a request for comment on the loyalty language and new performance standards.

» READ MORE: Who are the Philly region’s federal workers? A look at the employees impacted by Trump’s recent executive orders.

A Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) employee in Philadelphia, who has been a federal worker since 2016, was shocked by OPM’s resignation offer and wondered: “Is my job in jeopardy?”

The nine-year federal worker thought she would retire as a federal employee, but has begun to rethink that. She thought government work offered job security, but is less certain now.

“What does the future hold for me?” she said. “I don’t know, because it seemed like anything can happen within a week.”

Another Philadelphia VBA worker, a five-year employee, said she found the memo’s language troubling.

“Our jobs are uncertain because that email reads that you have to be performing at above the exceptional level,” she said. “That would be the norm — for everyone, and that is not realistic.”

AFGE’s lawyers are looking into the legality of the offer, said Glover. While it offers to pay workers through September if they accept, federal government spending is currently funded through March 14.

OPM regulations typically only allow buyouts of up to $25,000 per person unless Congress makes an exception, noted Glover. The average federal worker makes $106,382 per year, according to OPM data, which is about $71,000 from now to September.

Union leaders are skeptical of the offer — two, speaking with The Inquirer, called it a “scam.” The AFGE is urging caution to members considering the resignation.

“There’s not yet any evidence the administration can or will uphold its end of the bargain, that Congress will go along with this unilateral massive restructuring, or that appropriated funds can be used this way, among other issues that have been raised,” an AFGE spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson said the union’s locals and councils may demand to bargain over the program and could file grievances or unfair labor practice charges alleging the federal government directly communicated with employees, bypassing the unions.

Several federal agencies offer hybrid schedules — something workers (and their bosses) have gotten used to.

Trump’s executive order mandating a return to full-time in-person work might not be physically possible, workers said.

The Northeast Regional Office for the National Park Service, on Market Street in Philadelphia, can only hold about 60 employees, said Dave Fitzpatrick, secretary-treasurer of the AFGE Council 270 and a retired National Park Service maintenance employee in Philadelphia. The parks’ administrative workers would claim desks on a hoteling system that complemented their in-person schedules.

“If you needed a desk for a couple of days, you would make a reservation, so now they’re telling all these folks to come back,” Fitzpatrick said. “There’s physically not enough room for them to fit into that space.”

At the Philadelphia VBA: “I think we’re going to be squished like a can of sardines,” said the nine-year federal worker.

And returning to the office full time could mean an added expense for those who will now need additional help to care for children or other family members, workers said.

One Philly VA employee who has worked for the agency for more than 20 years said a flexible work-from-home schedule allowed them to attend medical appointments with their mom, who has been diagnosed with cancer. The employee themself also has a chronic illness, which was slightly easier to manage with telework.

Now, the VA employee said, “I’m gonna have to take a lot more time off in order to accommodate those necessary appointments.” But they want to keep their job, to continue “to help people” rather than “take an easy buyout and give up.”

If employees do take the resignation offer, there is no expectation their roles would be filled again, said Powell, who represents EPA workers.

“The work that they do would cease to be done,” said Powell. At the EPA that includes responding to emergencies, cleaning up toxic pollution, sampling water, and monitoring air.

“When there’s nobody to call, there’s going to be a problem,” she said. “The people that are there to respond to these emergencies, to do these cleanups, to make sure your water is clean or your air is breathable and safe for you and your children are not going to be there.”

It takes federal workers to process passports, keep airplanes flying, and national parks running, Glover notes.

Brad Starnes, president of AFGE’s Local 3631, described OPM’s email as “a rather ominous communication.”

Wednesday morning, he got a flood of phone calls and emails from union members he represents, which includes EPA employees in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Workers were “blindsided” and “shocked,” he said.

“You cannot just pull people out of an organization that provides the breadth of services that we provide that are truly needed, and expect that … there will not be severe impacts on the American people,” said Starnes. “That’s what scares me. Nothing like this has ever happened. This is new ground.”

Independence Hall relies on seasonal staff to keep up with tourists and crowds in the busy summer months, and with the hiring freeze and the “deferred resignation” program, individuals seeking to learn about Philadelphia and U.S. history may be sorely disappointed, said Fitzpatrick, the retired parks employee in Philadelphia.

“I don’t know what the summer season is going to look like at Independence, but there’s going to be a lot of people standing outside trying to get on tours that just aren’t going to happen,” he said.

The hunger for Philadelphia’s tourist attractions is likely to escalate next year with the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, which city officials are already preparing for. Trump himself has called for an extraordinary celebration in yet another executive order.

For one longtime employee with the National Park Service, telling the story of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution is not only a job — it’s personal.

“We are dedicated employees in this park, more so than any park I have ever seen, and we take our jobs seriously because we know that sometimes this is it for these people,” the employee said. “This is the shot of what American history really is.”