President Everett Kelley of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is making a colossal mistake by urging Democrats to cave on the Affordable Care Act subsidies that they’ve demanded be a part of any deal to reopen the federal government.
On Monday, Oct. 27, Kelley, whose 800,000 members make up the largest labor organization of federal workers, became the first major union leader to urge the Democrats end the shutdown by abandoning, for now, their position on healthcare.
Kelley essentially said Democrats should agree to the Republicans’ so-called “clean” continuing resolution and put an end to the shutdown immediately, allowing his members to return to work with pay. Leaders in Congress, he argued, have to “put partisan politics aside” and let issues like healthcare and the broken appropriations process be dealt with in “continued debate.”
After the AFGE statement was presented on a variety of media platforms, including NBC Washington, Washingtonian Problems, in addition to AFGE’s own social media, uproar followed in the comments by rank-and-file AFGE members and supporters.
Since the shutdown began over 20 days ago, federal workers across the majority of agencies in the government have pleaded with Democrats in Congress to “hold the line” and to not cave on the healthcare subsidies, which will lead to a significant increase in premiums starting in November.
Some have also called for the reinstatement of labor union contracts and to reinstate workers who were forcibly removed from their federal jobs. Labor-oriented groups that consist of rank-and-file federal workers, like the Federal Unionists Network (FUN), have also raised additional demands, saying that “next year’s budget must ensure adequate funding for critical public services; guarantee that appropriated funds are spent to provide those services; and oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to further weaken the programs, protections, and services that tens of millions of Americans rely upon.”
Their letter to Congress, dated Sept. 29, also notes the harms that have been inflicted upon the federal workforce and the country as a whole since the beginning of Trump 2.0, including:
- Cuts to Social Security
- Cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs
- Attacks on independent science and data
- Agency closures without congressional input
- Undercutting American labor
AFGE President Kelley’s statement is not only out of step with his rank-and-file membership; it is also reckless. At a time when this White House is engaging in the largest corruption and union-busting scheme in history, the working class does not need more division.
The Democrats in Congress only have one leverage point to receive some level of concessions from the MAGA Republicans, and that is this shutdown. Federal workers have said time and time again that the government has already been shut down since the beginning of the administration and the DOGE cuts.
Even AFGE penned a letter to Senate Minority Leader Schumer in March 2025 stating the same in relation to the continuing resolution, saying that “with thousands of federal workers either fired, placed on administrative leave, or at immediate risk of losing their jobs, AFGE members have concluded that a widespread government shutdown has been underway since January 20 and will continue to spread.” So, what has changed?
Yes, things are going to get significantly worse, and this is exactly what the Republicans and Trump want: absolute terror inflicted upon the working class. If the Democrats cave on this shutdown, though, there is no telling what may come to us following the reopening of the government.
Next week’s elections and the coming holidays may be a turning point in the deliberations, given that SNAP benefits are being cut starting Saturday, MAGA is attempting to consolidate its power in Congress through gerrymandering, and 1.4 million federal workers are missing their paychecks due to furloughs. The last shutdown that began in 2018 led to a general strike threat by AFA-CWA President Sara Nelson after TSA agents and flight traffic controllers missed several paychecks.
Kelley would do better by engaging his locals and rank-and-file membership to see if the majority of them want Democrats to hold the line on the shutdown demands or to cave to Republicans. This would be a first step in building working-class unity within AFGE in order to then build more unity with other federal labor unions, like the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE).
Now is not the time to quiver in fear. Federal workers are willing to make short-term sacrifices for the sake of maintaining democracy in the country. They have been among the first to recognize that fascism is knocking at the door, and they are the first line of defense. It would be critical for Kelley to recognize this reality.
As with all op-eds published by People’s World, the views expressed here are those of the author.
We hope you appreciated this article. At People’s World, we believe news and information should be free and accessible to all, but we need your help. Our journalism is free of corporate influence and paywalls because we are totally reader-supported. Only you, our readers and supporters, make this possible. If you enjoy reading People’s World and the stories we bring you, please support our work by donating or becoming a monthly sustainer today. Thank you!
CONTRIBUTOR
