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AFGE Council 238

Protecting workers who protect the planet

Our Fights

Mission

EPA employees have committed our careers to protecting human health and the environment. Our fight for a fair workplace is a fight to continue our mission to protect all Americans and preserve the soul of the EPA. The health and future of our country and planet depend on it.

Protecting the health of our country and our planet depends on a fully functioning EPA, where all employees – from climate scientists to pollution analysts, lawyers, and enforcement personnel – are free from political interference to do their jobs.

The Workers' Bill of Rights

In our fight for a fair contract, we created the EPA Workers’ Bill of Rights - a bold new vision for workers demanding the resources and respect we need to protect human health and the environment.

Learn More

Latest News

Latest Instagram Posts

  • May 1st commemorates a movement catalyzed in Chicago during the 19th-century fight for an eight-hour workday. Every day, we enjoy labor rights achieved through organized struggle. As federal workers, we know our labor is valuable and necessary to sustain the public sphere. Take some time to reflect on rights that have been created and defended via the power of solidarity and organizing, in recent history and beyond. Take time, also, to reflect on the future- we have the capacity to work toward a future for ourselves and for those after us that is healthier, safer, and more just. Where there is solidarity, there is power. #mayday #internationalworkersday #unionstrong
  • Happy Earth Day from C238!Make sure to check out what Eath Day events are happening near you. #earthday #AFGE #union
  • Organizations across the country signed a letter to Administrator Zeldin demanding that he rescind reduction in force (RIF) notices sent to 19 agency employees. Contact your representatives and demand that they stand with EPA workers who are urgently needed to do the work that protects human health and the environment. #EPA #Environment #RIF #federalemployees
  • 116 members of Congress signed a letter to Zeldin condemning the elimination of ORD: “Eliminating ORD is part of your crusade to gut the EPA and allow big business to pollute with impunity as our constituents get sicker.”
  • NATIONWIDE — In response to the EPA’s reduction in force notices (RIFs) to 22 environmental justice workers in the agency, AFGE Council 238 President Justin Chen released the following statement: “AFGE Council 238 is outraged by the EPA’s decision to issue RIF notices to 22 environmental justice employees whose work ensures that communities disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards receive the protections they are entitled to. The gutting of our workforce, which has already been reduced by an estimated 30 percent, has stretched remaining staff to the breaking point and weakened our ability to respond to mounting environmental and public health threats. There is no justification for further cuts: funding levels have remained steady and these are needed, well qualified workers, and the agency should be strengthening our workforce, not shrinking it. “We call on the EPA to immediately withdraw these notices and commit to using agency funding to rebuild our workforce, so we can fully carry out our mission to protect human health and the environment for all Americans.” #rif #epa #environmentaljustice #ej #solidarity
  • AFGE’s 2026 Legislative Conference is a go! C238 was proud to be represented today by our Executive Vice President, Miles.
  • EPA Union President Condemns Murder of AFGE Member Alex Pretti NATIONWIDE — Following the murder of Alex Pretti, a Veterans Affairs ICU nurse and AFGE member, by federal agents in Minneapolis, AFGE Council 238 President Justin Chen released the following statement: “AFGE Council 238 condemns the appalling murder of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis at the hands of federal agents. As a fellow AFGE member who dedicated his life to serving veterans as a VA ICU nurse, the murder of our union brother Alex Pretti is an unconscionable act of violence and a betrayal of the values federal workers are sworn to uphold. “Every federal employee takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution. The actions of ICE and CBP agents operating in Minnesota violate that oath and undermine fundamental constitutional protections, including due process. Just one week before Alex Pretti was killed, our Executive Board unanimously adopted the Minneapolis Solidarity Resolution, condemning ICE’s militarized presence in the Twin Cities and demanding accountability for the killing of Renee Good. The murder of Alex Pretti makes those demands even more urgent.  “AFGE Council 238 calls for ICE and CBP to immediately cease operations in Minneapolis and for fully independent investigations into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. We stand in solidarity with their families, with Alex’s coworkers at the VA, and with the residents of Minneapolis. All federal workers must be held to the constitution, and that includes ICE and border patrol agents. No one is above the law.”
  • When we say, “Save EPA, save lives,” we mean it. Swipe to see the US before EPA and why Council 238 maintains our position: No government funding without healthcare. #EPA #epasaveslives #saveepasavelives #union #fundhealthcare #governmentshutdown #environment
  • EPA Union President: No Government Funding Without Healthcare. Justin Chen, President of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238 representing thousands of EPA employees nationwide, issued the following statement today amid the ongoing government shutdown: “The US government must be fully funded immediately, and that has to include funding for healthcare. The very foundation of EPA’s mission is to protect human health. We cannot build a healthy nation while denying Americans the right to access affordable healthcare.  AFGE Council 238’s bottom line remains the same: civil servants should not be used as political pawns in this ongoing standoff. EPA employees are dedicated to protecting our air, water and communities from pollution and environmental harm – work that cannot be paused without putting public health at risk. Trump and Republicans in Congress have the power to end the shutdown now by supporting a deal that includes healthcare funding.” #saveEPAsavelives #fundhealthcare
  • No Kings! Last week, EPA employees across the country hit the streets (with some pretty great signs) to advocate for our right to do our jobs & to protect human health and the environment. Last week, we marched. This week, WE VOTE 🗳️ Visit vote.org to find information about your polling site. #nokings #nokingsday👑🚫 #afge #enviroment #unionpower
  • This week, Council 238 leaders gathered in Denver, (on personal time #nocontractproblems), to discuss leadership strategies, mobilization, and more. C238 left the summit feeling united and steadfast in our union principles. #theunionmakesusstrong #federalemployees #afge
  • We said it was illegal at the time. We were right.