Musk fu<kery driving massive increase in government union membership . . .

[torbee]

I'm always captivated by the Law of Unintended Consequences. This one is certainly interesting.


CONGRATS, ELON: DOGE’s attempts to dramatically reduce the size of the federal workforce may very well end up succeeding. But so far, it’s having something close to the opposite of its intended effect. Membership in the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal employee union, skyrocketed in January, according to an internal document obtained by The Bulwark. The union grew by 8,693 members in January 2025, compared to 14,996 net new members in the prior twelve months. AFGE didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment, so it’s not clear if those numbers have changed and when, precisely, in January, it saw the biggest gains. But it seems obvious that a chunk of federal workers—either in anticipation of the Trump administration or in reaction to Musk’s “Fork in the Road” memos—chose to get worker protections rather than flee for the hills.

And, indeed, our old pal Marc Caputo reports this morning that about 20,000 federal workers have taken Musk’s don’t-call-it-a-buyout, accounting for about 1 percent of the federal workforce. That’s well below the 5–10 percent that DOGE was eyeing, though there are a few more days left to go.

One other sign that Musk isn’t yet getting what he wants: A reader passed along an email that the Commerce Department sent to employees yesterday notifying them that they’re now allowed access to the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority program as part of DOGE buyouts—a sweetener to get more people to leave.

We Did This to Ourselves

The crisis we face is the product of our choices.

www.thebulwark.com

 

[Hawki97]

I consult(ed) with a number of federal agencies and still have a number of acquaintances in the federal government. From what I'm hearing from them, I'd bet dollars to donuts this trend continues. I feel like the "Fork in the Road" email has been met with "I'll Stick this Fork in Your Eye" vs. what Musy wanted - which was for everyone to just roll over. The unintended consequence of all this may be that the AFGE becomes more powerful than it ever has been. We'll have to see how it all plays out.

 

[ping72]

Like I said yesterday, anybody interested in this should follow the subreddit r/fednews.

It’s one of the few rays of hope I see in this country right now. These workers swore an oath to protect the constitution from enemies, both foreign and domestic. They are taking this domestic enemy very serious and are banding together to protect our country. It’s beautiful to see.

 

[Tiny Hands Trump]

I consult(ed) with a number of federal agencies and still have a number of acquaintances in the federal government. From what I'm hearing from them, I'd bet dollars to donuts this trend continues. I feel like the "Fork in the Road" email has been met with "I'll Stick this Fork in Your Eye" vs. what Musy wanted - which was for everyone to just roll over. The unintended consequence of all this may be that the AFGE becomes more powerful than it ever has been. We'll have to see how it all plays out.

Probably doesn't help that he had his little incels with the personal skills of a pile of rocks write the email.

 

[CaboKP]

It is reasonable assume (most of) these 8700 employees are not new to their organizations. I expect it does have something to do with worry of job security.

Having been part of a union in the past, we called the people who were too cheap to pay union dues "scabs". These people are known and typically not liked. These people want others to pay for the union, but want to have the benefits. It is well know that scabs do get union representation, but the union leaders aren't likely to fight as hard for these people.

 

[Hawki97]

Probably doesn't help that he had his little incels with the personal skills of a pile of rocks write the email.

Oh yeah, 100%. I posted this a couple days ago. There's a post on the subreddit @ping72 mentioned above just eviscerating the FAQ and specifically the one I pulled out. With each dig the power drunk douchebags make, the discontent just continues to grow. Like I said, it will be interesting if this ends up absolutely exploding in their face. I can see that eventuality.

Anybody following the "Fork in the Road" email the Fed HR sent to all employees?

It's been talked on here but "Fork in the Road" appears to be the theme behind the messaging federal employees are getting about voluntary resignation. The email by itself is hilarious and by my estimation was written by either a 22 year old Trump bro or a 57 year old short haired Trump Karen...

iowa.forums.rivals.com

 

[Moral]

few rays of hope

I'm sold.

 

[torbee]

Like I said yesterday, anybody interested in this should follow the subreddit r/fednews.

It’s one of the few rays of hope I see in this country right now. These workers swore an oath to protect the constitution from enemies, both foreign and domestic. They are taking this domestic enemy very serious and are banding together to protect our country. It’s beautiful to see.

This is not an advocation, but rather an acknowledgement. There is truth in this observation:

Between the economic damage and the rampant, chaotic, drug fueled chainsawing of the Federal budget (over the weekend Musk and Mike Flynn posted about cancelling a bunch of federal payments and grants to lutheran organizations, a collection of random disbursements they clearly found by word-searching "Lutheran" in some massive spreadsheet) there are a lot of different bags these two are threatening at once. And ****ing with the money is a good way to end up getting handed a poisoned big mac or a tainted line of ketamine.

Of course such a violent apotheosis in order to install a "more controllable" empty suit would be an extreme violation of the constitutional order, but if done quickly enough it might be used to return some amount of status quo ante to the American empire.

With every day that passes, however, the explanation that these moves are designed to protect the constitution or the republic would become more and more moral justification and less and less accurate description. And again, if the people rise up in all of this – which they will only be more primed to do as prices explode upwards, people lose their jobs, the stock market plummets, and Musk and his gang of groyper boneheads **** up federal payments, nevermind any of the other violent provocations against trans people, immigrants, disabled folks and people of color – there is no reason to imagine the crowds will stop at preventing this simple administrative coup. It's not even clear how they could, besides ripping Musk apart with their bare hands then going home.

We Will Outlive Them

But it will be easiest if we attack now

www.cawshinythings.com

 

[doughuddl2]

How did all that union dues money and $1.5 billion dollar spent help Harris?

8700 members dues was probably enough to pay for the Uber delivery and ice cream from their two fav's.

 

[joelbc1]

The fight in America has always been between labor and management. Management has had its way for 40 years or so… perhaps the working ban will win a few over the next 10 years or so.