Many federal probationary employees have lost their jobs due to President Donald Trump’s plan to shrink the U.S. Federal Government.
President Trump says these mass firings will reduce wasteful spending and make the workforce more responsive to his policies.
The U.S. Forest Service Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is one of those agencies being impacted.
Friday was the first round of layoffs and another round came Sunday.
“My boss’ boss came in and she said she needed to see me and brought me into her office and gave me a form letter and that was it – I had to walk out the door right then,” said Chris Buckley, former Public Affairs Specialist for the U.S. Forest Service Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
That was Buckley recalling the moment she was fired on Friday.
She had only been working there for four months; you may recognize her from previously reporting for our station.
She left 2 News Nevada to take that job.
However, with the president wanting to downsize the federal government, the Forest Service was left with no choice.
“It came down from OPM, which is the Office of Personal Management and so like my bosses here on the ground had absolutely nothing to say about it,” Buckley said. “They could not say anything about it. I mean one of them was crying as I was being let go – I mean they couldn’t even put in a good word.”
The termination was targeted at probationary employees, which are those who haven’t worked a year.
However, in Buckley’s letter it states, “The agency finds based on your performance that you have not demonstrated that your further employment would be in the public interest.”
The union rep for the Forest Service Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest, says she does not feel this is an accurate claim for most of the workers.
“The termination paper has what I would call false statements about these people’s performance,” said Robin Wignall, Vice President, National Federation of Federal Employees Local 125. “It literally says they failed to perform. In one case, they just didn’t fill the one year probationary period, but they had only been on the clock four months. So, it’s impossible physically to work 365 days in four months.”
Wignall says about 3,400 Forest Service employees were let go over the past few days across the nation.
However, that number was originally about 5,700 employees when they first received the list.
So far, federal fire fighters, police, avalanche forecasters and bridge inspectors were spared, and taken off that list.
They say the new staffing shortages will be noticed by the public in the future, really impact parks and recreation.
“Long term, these were positions we were trying to be filled for years,” Wignall said. “It means trails will not be maintained, outhouses will not be cleaned, wilderness camping spots will not be maintained. It means we lost our preventative search and rescue on the Sierra along the Pacific crest trail. So, we’re not going to have that staff, we’re going to have to rely on other staff and agencies to go and find these overdue campers.”
The National Federation of Federal Employees Union is trying to file a temporary restraining order on these terminations.
That hearing is scheduled for tomorrow in Washington D.C.
The union is concerned another round of firings could happen as soon as Wednesday.
