Hundreds of laid-off federal workers seeking state jobs, Pa. House panel hears

At least 700 former federal workers have applied for Pennsylvania government jobs following massive reductions in the U.S. government workforce by the Trump administration, according to a public employee union leader.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order last month to attract federal employees to work for the state. 

“The whole intent is that federal workers, or anyone with federal government experience can … get a quick idea of how the application hiring process works in state government, and then see where their experience will help them fit with us,” Miranda Martin, director of talent management for the Office of Administration, said.

The office has directed social media and other digital advertising to federal workers and created a landing page on the state employment website where they can learn about the application process, benefits and see highlighted positions in specialized, hard-to-fill roles, Martin said.

Martin and Philip Glover, national vice president for District 3 of the American Federation of Government Employees, testified about the impacts of unprecedented federal job cuts in a hearing before the House Democratic Policy Committee. AFGE represents about 31,000 federal employees in Pennsylvania.

Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Department of Government Efficiency headed by tech billionaire and Republican megadonor Elon Musk, has indiscriminately fired more than 120,000 workers in massive downsizing and dismantling of federal agencies, CNN reported, citing federal agencies, the Office of Personnel Managment and other news organizations. The layoffs are part of an initiative to cut government spending President Donald Trump initiated on his inauguration day, creating the department by executive order and appointing Musk to lead it.

“I’ve been through six administrations … and I can only say that I have never, ever seen the onslaught against workers, against the union and, frankly, against the services that we provide to the American public,” Glover said.

Pennsylvania has been hit hard and will continue to see impacts of federal downsizing, Glover said. The Social Security Administration, Veterans Administration, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense are all major Pennsylvania employers.

The Trump administration also has eliminated union protection for hundreds of thousands of workers, which unions are fighting, Glover said.

In addition to helping fired federal workers find state jobs, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has activated its rapid response program to assist workers in applying for unemployment benefits. More than 500 members of the AFGE have applied, Glover said, noting that as the unions have sued to challenge layoffs some workers have been placed back on the federal payroll.

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) asked whether the federal workers who remain in agencies like the Social Security Administration and Veterans Administration would be able to continue to deliver services to people who rely on them.

Glover said programs and workers are being eliminated without regard for the void they will leave.

“They are getting rid of grant programs, willy-nilly, like without any concept of what those programs do for the states, our people are in chaos,” he said.

Using the VA as an example, Glover said veterans who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with missing limbs will still require prosthetics that the agency may not be able to provide.

“The crux of this is that Pennsylvania, in my mind, is either going to have to pick up these services in some way, which is going to affect your budgets, or those services are just going to not be there for the public,” he said.