Philadelphia federal workers rally with Congressman Boyle to condemn employee layoffs
The Brief
Federal employees gathered at Independence Hall Monday to condemn the Trump administration's initiative to cut federal spending with mass layoffs.
Congressman Brendan F. Boyle spoke out against the job cuts and denounced the recent firings of more than 400 IRS employees in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA - On Monday, Congressman Brendan Boyle joined federal workers in Philadelphia to call out the recent federal worker layoffs.
The representative spoke out against the recent mass layoffs prompted by President Trump's ad
ministration.
What they're saying
"Elon Musk an unelected billionaire, is ruining the lives of 10s of thousands indeed hundreds of thousands of our federal employees," said Boyle.
According to Boyle, the layoffs could impact the more than 66,000 federal civilian employees in Pennsylvania.
The National President of the American Federation of Government Employees is calling out President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, demanding they stop the firing and reinstate all jobs.
"They told us before the election that they plan to traumatize federal workers and that is the least of it," said Everett Kelley.
The union representing local park rangers says several were let go as recently as Friday.
Employees also are worried if they lose anymore staff, large tourism events will be affected as the city is set to host major events like the World Cup and semiquencentennial next year.
"They have to cut programs because theres only so many park rangers to give tours," said Mark Cochran, AFGE COUNCIL 270 President. For maintenance staff they are faced with wither closing buildings or working more over time."
Instead of getting rid of those resources and jobs at Independence National Historical Park (INHP), during the rally, Boyle called on the Trump administration to invest in INHP.
He also denounced the firing of more than 400 IRS employees in Philadelphia.
"These aren't just federal jobs—they're Pennsylvania jobs," said Congressman Boyle. "Independence Hall, the birthplace of our democracy, was already understaffed, and now Trump is cutting even more jobs, hurting our economy and local businesses. And that's not all. Laying off IRS workers in the middle of tax season doesn't make government more efficient—it makes life harder for everyday Americans. Trump and his co-president Elon Musk aren't cutting waste, they're killing good-paying jobs and leaving working families to suffer the consequences."
"Thanks to my good friend Representative Boyle for being here today," said AFGE Council 270 Secretary-Treasurer David Fitzpatrick. "We represent the Park Rangers and all the dedicated public servants here at Independence National Historical Park. This is not a TV show. These are real people, dedicated public servants doing the people's work for the 5 million people that visit the birthplace of America here in Philadelphia each year. We the people will not tolerate Trump and his billionaire friends arbitrarily firing our members, destroying our National Parks, the Constitution, or this union."
The Source
The information in this story is from Congressman Brendan F. Boyle, AFGE National President Everett Kelley and, AFGE Council 270 Secretary-Treasurer David Fitzpatrick.
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