St. Louis area woman laid off from federal government job, union holds event to help

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - The American Federation of Government Employees and other federal employees voiced their frustrations on Thursday night.

It comes after the leaked memo saying that the Department of Veterans Affairs, the second largest federal agency, is possibly laying off thousands of workers by the end of this year.

“I worked for the USDA, rural development... and I was terminated Feb. 13th, 2025,” said sca Wise.ed fear that they may wake up to an email saying they’re terminated.

“I worked for the USDA, rural development... and I was terminated Feb. 13, 2025,” said sca Wise.

Wise says her day started as usual: she woke up and went to work for the USDA. Wise says when she checked her email, she was shocked.

“Terminated as a probationary period employee and for my performance,” said Wise.

She says she was so new to the job, she had never received a performance evaluation.

Now, the single mother of three has been left in a horrible position.

“For someone to just take that away from me, it was hard. Now I have to look at my children every day and try to figure out what is my next move, what do I do?” Wise asked.

Wise was just one of more than a hundred people who attended the town hall in Maryland Heights, another 215 ed via Zoom.

AFGE is spearheading the fight in the nation’s capitol to pause these layoffs.

“That’s what we’re fighting for, to get our employees jobs back because they were illegally removed, without proper procedures in the way that we all have contracts,” said Jovianna Snead, AFGE Local 2192 President.

A fight the union says they won’t stop until people like Wise are back on the job.

“I’ve worked as a contractor for the USDA since 2014 and for me to finally get a chance to become a federal employee was exciting. I need answers. I need justice for this, it’s not right,” said Wise.

The union is holding a rally on Saturday to stand in solidarity for all federal employees. It starts at 11 a.m. at 2200 N. Highway 67, Florissant, MO 63033.

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