Atlanta: AFGE rallies in defense of collective bargaining at the CDC

Atlanta, GA – Members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) hit the streets on April 1 to defend their jobs, collective bargaining agreements and union’s very existence. Over 70 community members joined the rally, showing their strong support for AFGE members who work at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta.

Attendees held signs with slogans such as “CDC saves lives!” and “Fire DOGE, not CDC heroes!”

The rally comes in the wake of Trump’s March 27 executive order that seeks to strip over a million federal workers of their collective bargaining rights, immediately terminating their contracts and grievance procedures. The executive order comes after mass firings and “restructuring” at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) since Trump took office. There have already been mass firings at CDC, with all probationary employees being forced out alongside the majority of the HIV prevention department.

The Office of Personnel Management has instructed government agencies to enforce Trump’s previous Reduction in Force (RIF) order, but with the added caveat that agencies no longer have to acknowledge RIF compensation requirements in union contracts.

Peter Farruggia, a member of AFGE Local 2883 executive board, spoke to Fight Back! about the conditions in the union since the beginning of Trump’s attack on workers, stating “Morale is probably at the lowest it’s ever been. But on the opposite end, in our local we have never seen more action and people ready to step up, organize, mobilize and fight back. Our local membership before inauguration in mid-January was about 400 to 500 dues paying members. When I looked at our numbers yesterday, we were up to over 1800 dues paying members.”

Regarding the goals of the rally, Farruggian said, “AFGE has specifically wanted to get a lot of current and terminated employees out to show public support for our union. Our primary goal is to get the public aware of what’s going on and the fact that CDC does have an impact on the Atlanta community and the state of Georgia.”

Outside of the public health effects of weakening the HHS and CDC, the promised firings have massive economic implications for not just Atlanta, but the entire country. Thousands of workers being stripped of their jobs all at once will contribute to an already rising unemployment rate, decreased consumer spending in the immediate, and in the long run create the conditions for a public health crisis similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. A significantly weakened CDC would be in no position to adequately address another pandemic, almost guaranteeing economic disaster.

Farrugia also issued a warning to private sector unions, stating, “When they’re coming for us first, they’re coming for you next. If there’s private sector unions that think they will be spared from any of this, they are wrong. Regardless of whatever Trump signs, he is not going to get away with this. We are going to fight back with every fiber of our being.”

AFGE Local 2883 will continue to have weekly rallies outside the CDC while their union is under attack from the Trump administration.

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