WASHINGTON — The union representing millions of federal workers who must decide by Friday whether to voluntarily resign or continue on but face possible cuts in the future cautioned its members against accepting the offer earlier this week.
Last month, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent a letter to the nation's 2 million federal employees offering what the OPM called a Fork in the Road: Either "resign" or "resign and retire" by Thursday, Feb. 6.
The move is part of the Trump administration's goal to shrink the federal workforce to save billions.
On its website, the OPM argued that the offer letters were sent as, "The federal workforce is expected to undergo significant near-term changes. As a result of these changes (or for other reasons), you may wish to depart the federal government on terms that provide you with sufficient time and economic security to plan for your future.”
About 40,000 federal employees work here in Colorado at agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Reserve Bank.
Tim Snyder, with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) — the largest union representing federal workers — told Denver7 the union is cautioning federal workers on accepting the offer.
“The federal government is funded through a continuing resolution through March the 14th, and so there's really no guarantee that these employees will be paid to the end of September,” Snyder said.
Our partners at The Denver Post report the unions argue the deferred resignation program violates the Administrative Procedure Act, that the OPM lacks the legal authority to make such a sweeping offer and that funds to pay resigning workers beyond March 14 aren’t secure yet.
Beyond that, the Post reported, the AFGE and other groups are suing to prevent what they consider administration efforts to politicize the civil service and replace career employees with “unqualified political flunkies loyal to the president, but not the law or Constitution.”
Snyder told Denver7 that by the end of January, the union also saw a sudden increase of 8,700 new members, all concerned about their future.
“I don't know where — if these people lose their jobs — where they're going to find new jobs. And the other thing is, if a large amount of the federal workforce takes this voluntary resignation, what is it going to do to the services that federal workers provide to the American public?” Snyder said.
Those who received the letters have until February 6 to take the offer.
The military, U.S. Postal Service, the TSA and other workers considered important to national security aren’t eligible to resign.
