Thousands rally in Seattle to demand an end to Trump layoffs of federal workers

Seattle, WA – On February 17, over 2000 people rallied at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building to demand an end to the Trump administration’s layoffs. The rally was organized by federal workers, many represented by the American Federation of Government Employees, hoping to bring the people onto the streets to defend civil services against the Elon Musk led purge of more than 10,000 (and counting) federal employees.

The very next day, February 18, over 1000 workers in the National Parks Service were removed from their posts. Many more in critical agencies, such as the NLRB, EPA, Department of Health, and others have already been fired or are bracing for the same fate. The administration has made threats to fire all probationary staff, which, as NLRB field attorney Liz Devleming explained, “in the Seattle office, that’s about half of our staff.”

Civil servants and their supporters packed into the square in front of the federal building, the sidewalks in the surrounding blocks, and even onto the balconies of the Wells Fargo building across the street, chanting “Federal workers – hold the line!” The chorus of car horns as supportive drivers passed by was a constant background to the speeches given by aggrieved federal workers, their spouses, their friends, and others affected by the reckless austerity campaign.

Among the people in attendance, the fierce sentiment of support for organized labor and its role in fighting back was palpable. Every mention of union affiliation was met with raucous applause from the crowd.

Mathieu Chabuad, a UAW 4121 member at the University of Washington who is facing mass layoffs under the Trump administration, stated, “If you’re a union member, and you haven’t been going to union meetings, start going. Start talking to your coworkers about how you’re going to organize! And if you’re not in a union, find an organization where you can fight!”

Chabuad continued, as the crowd cheered, “We have power in the streets, and we have power in the workplace! We won the eight-hour working day because workers went on strike for it, because it made the ruling class scared, and we need to make them scared again!”

A common theme among signs at the protest was resistance against Trump and his stream of illegal orders and actions being handed down from on high, some calling him a dictator and a self-appointed king. Other protesters held signs reading “Fire Elon Musk!” and “No nazis.”

Federal workers and their unions are not backing down after the demonstration on Monday. Even during that event they were gearing up for a national day of action the following Wednesday on the 19th to picket Tesla dealerships around the country and to wage a social media campaign to raise awareness and support for the cause.

Devleming told Fight Back!, “These are terrifying, historic times; our grandchildren will judge us on how we act.”

With this massive turnout, federal workers made it clear that they are ready to oppose these attacks on their livelihoods and services, and that they’re ready to make good on their promise chanted across the streets, “When federal workers are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

#SeattleWA #WA #Labor #AFGE #FederalWorkers