Trump Gets Rude Awakening as Fired Workers Go Public
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What is the main topic of this episode?
Donald Trump has been firing thousands of federal workers every day. Tens of thousands of workers have been fired. And now these workers are speaking out in public. A lot of them are disabled veterans. Veterans make up about 30-40% of our federal workforce.
How are disabled veterans affected by federal layoffs?
After sacrificing on the battlefield and across the country for our military, oftentimes our veterans get work within the federal government to serve for their lifetime. Donald Trump is tearing their lives apart, firing them and treating them like absolute trash. They're now speaking out about it. Let me share some of these stories with you. And as you'll see at the end of the video, some individuals were even Trump supporters and didn't think this was going to happen. But let's just show you at first some disabled veterans who have lost their jobs. For example, here's a disabled veteran who lost his job with the Salt Lake Veteran Affairs Department. This is from Fox 13 News in Utah. Play this clip.
What stories do veterans share about losing their jobs?
Some federal workers may tell you a job with the government takes on a higher meaning.
Who is Greg House and what was his experience?
We joined it because we want to serve our nation's veterans, to serve our schools, our park goers, you know, everywhere that the federal government touches.
For Navy veteran Greg House, he wanted to continue helping others who have spent time in the military.
I get almost all of my care at the VA hospital. That is a huge part of my identity, and I want to serve them.
So he jumped at the chance to join the Veterans Affairs team in Salt Lake City last year, and all indicators told him he was thriving in the role.
because I had only received top marks on my most recent performance evaluation.
But on February 13th, House discovered that the VA cut 1,000 probationary employees. The next day, he saw an email.
My employment with the VA had been terminated due to my performance, which... didn't make much sense to me.
House says it feels like a betrayal because from his time served in the Navy to his years here at the VA, his entire adult life has been dedicated to this country.
And it hurts to see that, you know, my story is not unique and that all of these thousands and thousands of probationary employees are having something that they've worked so hard for be... just taken away.
This 80% disabled veteran now joins many others around the country who are left searching for their next step and who are left hoping that others don't have to meet this same fate.
The next clip I want to share with you is just so sad, and it's Chelsea Milburn. She's a disabled veteran sharing her emotional story about being fired from her federal job that she worked so hard at by Donald Trump. Here, play this clip.
How does Chelsea Milburn describe her job loss?
I've already said I served my country for 11 years, nine of them on active duty. I deployed twice. I spent so much time away from my family. Oh, no. I was gone when my mom passed away. And I missed that to serve my country. And I was excited to continue serving in this capacity. And they not only tore that out from under my feet, but couldn't even just grant me a layoff and instead place the blame on me that it was my performance. And I've gotten nothing but positive reviews on that. So I feel very much like the message is that my service isn't valued. They don't care about how this impacts me or people like me. And to me, it's inhumane. It feels like they're ignoring our personhood and not respecting us as human beings or as Americans.
Yeah, that one brought a tear to my eye. Here is another veteran fired by the Trump administration. Here's what she had to say about what happened to her. Play this clip.
Yes, I was the program support assistant at the Cedar Rapids Vet Center. We were mental health, or they are a mental health and behavioral health center. We have a director and counselors, and then I support them. The system error I did up until Friday, February 14th. I was met at the door by my director. She let me know that I was done. I had no idea. It hit me out of the blue. I didn't even know I was on a list that would possibly be considered. But it appears that any one of us could be on that list. I was allowed online the entire day to be able to sort my business. And I still haven't been able to offload or offboard completely. So because we are in limbo. I don't know Logan's experience, but mine is that I'm still in somewhere kind of in between.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic of this episode?
0:00–0:20
2
How are disabled veterans affected by federal layoffs?
0:20–1:09
3
What stories do veterans share about losing their jobs?
1:09–1:14
4
Who is Greg House and what was his experience?
1:14–3:07
5
How does Chelsea Milburn describe her job loss?
3:07–6:41
6
What is Andrew Lennox's perspective on the layoffs?
6:41–9:37
7
Who is Nelson Feliz and what is his story?
9:37–20:18