In the face of a relentless effort to dismantle the federal government from within, a new movement is taking shape—led not by politicians or pundits but by federal workers themselves. The largest effort to date is the Federal Unionists Network (FUN). The FUN is offering a direct response to sweeping purges, politicized restructuring, and the hollowing out of public institutions under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The FUN is a federal-sector workers-led network born from a crisis, grounded in solidarity, and driven by a vision to build a democratic, accountable, and community-rooted public sector—one that not only survives political assaults but can ensure that the government fulfills its promise of meeting people’s needs.

“If you give up your voice as soon as you’re under attack, you’ve already lost.”

What began in 2022 as a few dozen local leaders of federal unions organizing for stronger protections and supporting each other on a group text, has quickly grown into a multiagency organizing force. The network spans dozens of federal agencies—from veterans’ services to environmental protection, from public health to infrastructure. And the core message is clear: We are committed to public service. We will fight back against authoritarian attacks. And we will work together to create the conditions necessary to build a government that serves the public good.

Finding Our Voice

One of the FUN’s earliest and most powerful principles is voice. For decades, federal workers have been expected to remain invisible—diligent but silent. But federal workers took an oath to serve and protect the Constitution and that means protecting and serving our communities. When institutions are gutted, programs shuttered, and colleagues fired en masse, silence is no longer an option.

“We are speaking out in our own names and our own stories,” Paul Osadebe, a FUN organizer and trial attorney with the Department of Housing and Urban Development told NPQ. “Because if you give up your voice as soon as you’re under attack, you’ve already lost.”

That message has reverberated. Federal workers who once operated quietly behind the scenes are now appearing on picket lines and press conferences, giving face and voice to the programs and protections that hundreds of millions of people rely on.

This is not just resistance to false narratives about government bloat or inefficiency. It’s a rebuttal to the deeper attack—that public service is itself suspect, that governance is inherently broken, and that communities are better left to fend for themselves.

This is not about waste, fraud, or abuse. This is about corporate theft, authoritarianism, and stripping away the protections that keep working people from total dependence on billionaires.

A Culture of Courage and Joy

The FUN was created not only to organize but to counter fear. In agencies across the country, fear is being used as a weapon: fear of retaliation, of firing, of surveillance. Many federal workers were understandably paralyzed in the early weeks of 2025, but our message is simple: Fear cannot dictate strategy.

“There is risk,” Mark Smith, a FUN organizer and occupational therapist at Veterans Affairs, bluntly told NPQ. “But it is better to put your own narrative out there than to comply in advance. That’s how they win—by convincing you to disappear before they even make the demand.”

Our goal isn’t just trying to survive this moment—it is to transform it, by helping federal service better serve its core purpose: the public good.

Public actions—like the “Save Our Services” rallies held in over 20 cities in February 2025—serve not just as political statements but as collective courage rituals. They give both workers and allies the chance to meet and see each other, stand together, and break through the narrative that resistance is futile.

As FUN organizer and Environmental Protection Agency employee Drew Curtis said to NPQ, “If [the Trump administration’s] strategy is to demobilize us with despair, then our job is to get loud, visible, and organized.”

Building Coalitions

From the start, we knew we needed to build something different and reimagine the terrain of federal worker organizing itself.

That meant working across constituencies, no matter what agency, local union, or profession federal workers were in. We needed to create a movement where people’s job title or agency they worked for was not what primarily defined them; where scientists, caseworkers, analysts, and administrative staff all saw themselves in the same fight and connected through a common vision. Federal workers are also seeing themselves as a central part of the larger labor movement in solidarity with teachers, janitors, hotel workers, and more.

This vision has given rise to regional hubs involving multiple unions, cross-agency coalitions, and new partnerships that defy traditional organizing models. All work to strengthen our union locals, federal sector unions, and the national labor movement, so we can lead together in this moment of crisis.

Together, in places where union membership is low, we are supporting the growth of our union movement. In places with strong union locals, FUN organizers are working to deepen alignment with broader pro-democracy goals. Everywhere, the focus is on connection across silos.

Forging Durable, Sustainable Power from the Inside Out

Labor organizing doesn’t stop at the federal workforce. We know that we are part of a much wider struggle for community survival and democratic renewal. That means building alliances—deep, durable ones—with communities, faith groups, social justice organizations, and the wider labor movement.

The future of democracy will be shaped by a worker-led and grassroots-driven labor movement.

“Public workers don’t serve abstract systems,” explained MT Snyder, a FUN organizer and field examiner at the National Labor Relations Board. “We serve communities—families, veterans, immigrants, seniors, kids. If we’re under attack, so are they. And we want them in this fight with us.”

That approach has led us to collaborate with a wide range of civil society networks and unions, and cosponsor rallies that include everything from housing justice to climate groups. Our goal isn’t just trying to survive this moment—it is to transform it, by helping federal service better serve its core purpose: the public good.

For this reason, we are already looking ahead. FUN members intend not just to resist current cuts but be part of rebuilding the federal sector—harnessing the expertise, passion, and insight of our members to create a more responsive blueprint for our agencies. Because we have no intention of going back to the way things were, we are looking to build something better. The nation’s founding documents promised a government for the people, and we already knew the pre-2025 reality fell far short of that vision. Federal worker leadership can bring us far closer to that ideal.

Strategy in the Face of Crisis

The FUN’s growth has not been accidental. It is guided by strategy—one grounded in the history of the labor movement and solidarity and a clear-eyed understanding of the authoritarian playbook.

The network’s strategy includes:

• Organizing where union membership is low. Supporting local unions in creating a clear path for workers who have never been engaged in collective action.
• Strengthening existing unions. Providing connection and support, political education, and national coordination across union efforts to help local workers resist purges and build public support, because when our federal sector unions are stronger, our country is as well.
• Building cross-sector alliances. Creating one front with the full breadth of the labor movement and civil society, because federal workers can’t win this fight alone. It’s all one attack.
• Speaking publicly, relentlessly. Changing the narrative from one of apathy and technocracy to one of resistance and public service.
• Creating the vision and blueprint. For the federal government that serves all by tapping the expertise of the federal workers who know it best and the communities the government should serve and protect.

As Osadebe explained, “We have a theory of change. We have an idea of how we can respond in a way that engages people that gives them hope that is not just false. We are trying to give people who are scared and uncertain something they can do—a way they can individually and collectively respond and build power and take back power from the people who are concentrating it.”

While it may be unexpected for many to see federal workers thrust into a movement leadership role, we are ready for the front lines. The good news is that we know what’s required. The future of democracy will be shaped by a worker-led and grassroots-driven labor movement. By reinforcing core principles of solidarity, we can forge a path forward.

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