NATIONWIDE — In response to reports that the Trump administration is planning to implement a sweeping government-wide nondisclosure agreement to silence federal workers, AFGE Council 238 President Justin Chen released the following statement:
“AFGE Council 238 vehemently opposes any attempt to impose broad gag orders on federal workers under the guise of ‘confidentiality.’ EPA employees are civil servants and scientific experts whose job is to protect public health and the environment, not to stay silent when those protections are under threat.
“This administration has already retaliated against workers for exercising their free speech rights, including EPA employees who were illegally fired and suspended for signing the Declaration of Dissent last year to raise concerns about policies undermining public health and the agency’s mission. Now, those attacks are being escalated in a government wide-effort to intimidate workers into silence and keep the American public in the dark. AFGE Council 238 will defend our members’ free speech and whistleblower rights to the fullest extent, just as we have done before. The American people deserve transparency and accountability from their government, not silence and lies.”