If 2025 was any indication, federal and D.C. government workers are in for another rollercoaster this year.
President Trump took office Jan. 20, 2025, with a mission to downsize the federal government and gut workers’ union rights and labor protections. Over the subsequent year, our union successfully reversed or delayed many of these efforts through legal challenges, legislative victories, and grassroots activism.
“2025 was a tough year for many of us. It was a tough year for our union, for our country, but I’m proud to say that AFGE did not cower. We didn’t give up, we stood up, and we fought back,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said during an AFGE leaders’ town hall Jan. 22 to kick off the new year.
Make no mistake – while we managed to stave off the worst of the attacks last year, we are gearing up for more battles in 2026. That’s why we’re breaking it all down here – highlighting our top priorities, key events, and other activities coming up this year that you need to know about.
Top Legislative Goals
Hundreds of AFGE members will gather in the nation’s capital on the first weekend in February for our annual Legislative and Grassroots Mobilization Conference. This is a time for members to network with each other, meet with congressional members and staff to lobby in support of our key legislative priorities, and come away with new tools and tips to help drive action on our most important issues.
One of our annual legislative goals is to increase take-home pay for the rank-and-file employees who serve this country with honor and distinction. We are currently working with key lawmakers in both the House and Senate to introduce legislation that would provide federal employees with a 4.1% pay raise in 2027 to help close the pay gap between the public and private sectors and raise workers’ living standards. We also will advocate for parity between the pay raises provided to employees in the civil and military services.
In addition to the pay raise legislation, AFGE has identified numerous bills that are among our top legislative priorities for the year. They include:
There is still time to register for the Legislative Conference. Click here to register today.
Legal battles
On the legal front, while we have scored some significant victories for our members, several of our lawsuits challenging the administration’s workforce policies remain active.
Among the ongoing cases include challenges to the administration’s merit hiring plan, the effort to reclassify tens of thousands of federal employees into at-will positions, and the improper sharing of federal workers’ personnel records with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
You can keep up with the latest developments in all of our lawsuits challenging the administration’s policies at this link.
Midterm elections
Every seat in the U.S. House and one-third of the U.S. Senate will be up for election on Nov. 3. AFGE districts have already begun endorsing candidates ahead of the primaries, and we will be announcing more endorsements as we get closer to the midterms.
Details on our endorsed candidates and other information pertinent to the election will be posted on our website in the coming months.
Since taking office in January 2025, President Trump has issued a series of unlawful executive orders, and taken several unlawful actions, seeking to shut down congressionally mandated agencies, fire and displace federal workers, outlaw their unions, and gut merit systems protections.
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A federal judge has ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs to reinstate the union contract covering 320,000 VA employees represented by AFGE in a major victory over the implementation of President Trump’s union-busting executive orders.
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As the Department of Homeland Security shutdown reaches the one-month mark with no end in sight, AFGE leaders are calling on Congress to ensure all DHS workers are paid.
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