FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2025
May 16, 2025
Media Contact:
Dr. Micah Niemeier-Walsh, PhD
Vice President, AFGE Local 3840
[email protected]
HHS Tries to Quietly Shift Public Health Layoffs as Critical Programs Remain Gutted
Joint Statement from CDC & NIOSH Employee Unions Condemning: Ongoing Layoffs and Program Closures
[Atlanta, GA, Cincinnati, OH, Morgantown, WV, Pittsburgh, PA, Spokane, WA, Research Triangle Park, NC] – May 15, 2025 — The unions representing workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are sounding the alarm. Despite recent headlines about reinstatements, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) continues to carry out mass layoffs that gut frontline science and shut down life-saving public health programs.
In April, HHS began a Reduction in Force that targeted more than 1,500 CDC employees and over 90 percent of NIOSH staff. Following national outcry from unions, lawmakers, and public health experts, HHS reinstated only approximately 300 NIOSH employees. At the same time, an email from an HHS official stated they would lay off an equivalent number of CDC staff to “offset” the reinstatements, presenting this as a zero-sum game. This false choice undermines our collective ability to respond effectively to health crises and weakens the entire public health infrastructure.
“These layoffs are not targeting inefficiency, they are targeting science,” said Yolanda Jacobs, President of AFGE Local 2883. “Public health researchers and frontline scientists are being thrown out of their jobs while the country faces growing environmental, occupational, and public health crises.”
“Let us be clear: our unions stand united. We will not be divided. We oppose all of these layoffs, whether at CDC or NIOSH,” said Brendan Demich, Chief Steward of AFGE Local 1916. “This is a coordinated assault on the public health workforce. Federal workers are being used as pawns in a political game, and the consequences will be deadly for the people of this country.”
Programs that remain defunded include NIOSH’s toxicology research, chemical hazard risk assessment, and surveillance of high-risk industries. These functions are not just critical, they are required by law under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. On May 14, Public Citizen Litigation Group and several labor unions filed a federal lawsuit seeking a full reversal of the NIOSH layoffs, citing NIOSH’s legal mandates.
“Every single program at NIOSH is critical to protecting the working people of this country,” said Dr. Micah Niemeier-Walsh, PhD, Vice President of AFGE Local 3840. “Cutting any part of NIOSH puts American workers directly at risk of getting sick or injured on the job. This isn’t bureaucracy, it’s life and death.”
To speak out against these cuts and demand full reinstatement, the NIOSH employee unions will rally with the AFL-CIO and other labor allies outside HHS Headquarters (200 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC) on May 22 at 12:00 p.m.
NIOSH Programs Still Shut Down or Severely Disrupted
- Field research and health surveillance to collect exposure and health outcome data across industries.
- Development of scientifically based criteria for occupational health and safety standards, including Recommended Exposure Limits and Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health values.
- Toxicology research, including dermal exposure studies and chemical screening relevant to worker exposures, which supports hazard assessment and safety standards.
- Mine safety research to address the ever-evolving health and safety needs of miners, an industry the Trump administration has indicated a desire to expand.
- Exploration of new occupational risks, including those from emerging technologies.
- Production of the NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards, a vital resource for health and safety professionals.
- Development of analytical methods for chemical hazard detection.
- Engineering research on exposure controls to ensure workplace and community safety.
- Research and training for high-risk and underserved sectors, including small businesses and rural occupations in agriculture, construction, fishing, oil and gas, and logging.
- Education and Research Centers that train the next generation of occupational health professionals.
- Full reinstatement of all laid-off employees
- Restoration of funding to all affected programs
- An end to retaliatory and offsetting layoffs
- Direct engagement with union leadership before any future restructuring
- AFGE 3840 represents employees at NIOSH in Cincinnati, Ohio
- AFGE 2883 represents employees at CDC in Atlanta, Georgia
- AFGE 2923 represents employees at CDC in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
- AFGE 3430 represents employees at NIOSH in Morgantown, West Virginia
- AFGE 1916 represents employees at NIOSH in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Spokane, Washington
Union Demands
- Full reinstatement of all laid-off employees
- Restoration of funding to all affected programs
- An end to retaliatory and offsetting layoffs
- Direct engagement with union leadership before any future restructuring
About the CDC & NIOSH AFGE Locals
We urge the House, the Senate, and the American public to stand with the scientists, health professionals, and working families whose safety and well-being depend on a strong, fully staffed public health workforce.
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