Senators Call on USDA to Consult with Unions on Reorganization Plans

September 15, 2025

A group of 18 U.S. senators is encouraging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to consult with the American Federation of Government Employees and other unions on a proposed agency reorganization that could affect thousands of USDA employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.

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USDA, We Have a Problem

February 06, 2023

At the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Maryland, the largest agricultural research facility in the world, things are not going well.

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Remote IT Workers at USDA Voted to Join AFGE

July 25, 2022

AFGE has big win at USDA!

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1,000 USDA Employees Being Moved Out of Toxic Building Complex

June 29, 2020

After a years-long fight, 1,000 employees working for the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development department are being moved out of the contaminated Goodfellow building complex in St. Louis, MO.

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FLRA Should Reject USDA's Request to Evade Legal Obligations

February 03, 2020

The FLRA should refuse to consider the USDA's request to issue guidance that would allow the agency to deviate from established labor law.

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USDA Issues Dirty Pork Rule, Allows Pork Producers to Inspect Own Meat

September 23, 2019

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is once again putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.

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AFGE Blasts USDA for Slashing Separation Payments for Workers Forced to Quit

August 26, 2019

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has slashed the amount of separation payments it promised to make to employees who are being forced to quit their jobs as the department relocates two agencies.

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USDA, AFGE Reach Agreement on Provisions to Ease Forced Relocations from D.C. to Kansas City

August 12, 2019

AFGE has reached agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on provisions designed to mitigate some of the impact of the forced relocation of employees at two USDA agencies from Washington to the Kansas City region.

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USDA Firing Half of Scientists at 2 Research Agencies

July 22, 2019

The Trump administration is sending out removal letters to 250 scientists and researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) who have declined short-notice relocation from Washington, D.C. to a not-yet-to-be determined area in the Kansas City region.

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Mass Exodus Projected If USDA Forces NIFA Workers to Relocate

July 15, 2019

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is projected to experience catastrophic employee attrition as a result of the short-notice move of 90% of all NIFA employees out of the National Capital Region.

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GSA to Close Federal Complex Plagued by Cancer-Causing Chemicals Following AFGE’s Complaint

July 01, 2019

AFGE members came together to demand a safe workplace, and their efforts paid off. Employees were informed that the General Services Administration (GSA) will cease operating at the contaminated Goodfellow Complex in St. Louis, Mo., and employees will be moved to a new location.

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USDA Faces Mounting Pressure from Employees, AFGE, Bipartisan Lawmakers to Cancel Plan to Close Job Corps Centers

June 10, 2019

The Trump administration’s plan to kill 1,100 jobs by closing nine Forest Service Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (CCCs) hit a major roadblock as employees, unions, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle mounted stiff resistance.

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Bill Introduced to Block Relocation of USDA Research Agencies

June 03, 2019

A bill has been introduced in the Senate to block the Trump administration’s plan to politicize scientific research and relocate two research agencies outside the capital.

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Lawmakers Tell USDA to Halt Moving ERS Headquarters

May 20, 2019

The Trump administration’s plan to move the headquarters of the Economic Research Service (ERS) out of Washington, D.C. hit a major snag as capital region lawmakers are pushing back against the relocation, which many sees as the administration’s attempt to politicize research and science.

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Huge Victory: USDA Economists, Analysts Vote Overwhelmingly to Join AFGE

May 13, 2019

In a huge victory for federal government workers, economists, researchers, analysts, and other employees at the Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) on May 9 voted overwhelmingly to join AFGE, the largest union representing D.C. government and federal employees nationwide.

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