(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The largest Federal Worker Union in the Nation has sued the Trump-Vance Administration for forcing Civil Servants at the U.S. Department of Education to engage in partisan political rhetoric during the current Federal shutdown.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) - the largest Federal Employee Union that represents 820,000 Workers, sent a cease and desist letter and filed a lawsuit in District Court for the District of Columbia.

AFGE is represented by Democracy Forward and Public Citizen Litigation Group in the matter. 

AFGE National President Everett Kelley said: “Federal Employees already are suffering financially by going without a salary due to this politically-motivated government shutdown. Now the Administration has directly and deliberately violated the First Amendment Rights of furloughed Workers at the Department of Education by replacing their out-of-office e-mail messages with partisan political language without the Employees’ consent. Our Union will not stand silent while President Trump and his political puppets blatantly violate the law in yet-another assault on Federal Workers’ rights.”

Due to the government shutdown, furloughed Public Employees unable to respond to e-mails set up “out-of-office” replies to automatically respond to incoming messages.

The Department of Education replaced Employees’ out-of-office e-mail messages with partisan political language placing blame for the shutdown.

The changes were made without giving notice to the Employees and without obtaining consent.

The Trump-Vance Administration’s use of official government resources to push partisan messaging is both unprecedented and in violation of the First Amendment. 

The complaint (which is available here) states: “Going far beyond the traditional and lawful use of the Presidential bully pulpit, the Trump Administration is unlawfully compelling agencies and Civil Servants across the Federal Government to engage in political rhetoric to serve the interests of the governing party. Employees have been forced to involuntarily parrot the Trump Administration’s talking points with e-mails sent out in their names.”

To Directly Access This Labor News Story In Its Entirety: AFGE | Trump-Vance Administration’s Use of Employees’ Emails to Send Partisan Political Messages Challenged by Largest Federal Worker Union