About 50 Environmental Protection Agency employees protested outside of the federal agency's Philadelphia branch Wednesday, demanding the reinstatement of 144 workers who were placed on administrative leave after they signed an open letter questioning the Trump administration's leadership and the future of the EPA.
The demonstrators are members of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3631, which represents EPA civil servants in the Philly region. They said they gathered at 1600 John F. Kennedy Blvd. to show their solidarity with the suspended workers.
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Brad Starnes, the union's president, said at least seven EPA workers in the Philly area are among those that have been suspended for at least two weeks. Starnes said the EPA has not shared the names of the workers with him, adding that non-union workers from the region also may be among those suspended.
"This was retaliation for a letter of dissent that employees directed to their management, outlining very specifically and objectively concerns that these employees had regarding the direction of the agency," Starnes said. "I was one of the signatures, but our issue is this was a heavy-handed response to what was a respectful and protected communication from an employee to their management."
The demonstrators held signs saying "WE WANT TO WORK" and "#ProtectEPA" as union leaders pledged to fight for the members who impacted by the EPA's decision.
The letter, dated June 30 and titled "Declaration of Dissent,"was signed by more than 600 EPA staff members and thousands of citizens. It was sent to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and expressed several concerns about the agency's direction. It accused the Trump administration of politicizing the agency, having disregard for scientific consensus, dismantling its research office and promoting a culture of fear in the workplace.
"Today we come directly to you, Administrator Zeldin and our elected officials," the letter reads. "We expect your deliberate consideration of these concerns and look forward to working with you to restore EPA's credibility as a premier scientific institution."
Three days later, the New York Times reported that the EPA had placed 144 EPA employees on administrative leave for at least two weeks and begun an investigation into their decision to sign the letter.
"The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting the administration's agenda as voted for the by the great people of this country last November," EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch told the Times.
The morale of local EPA workers already had been lowered before the suspensions by grant terminations and freezes to federal funding and hiring, union leaders said Wednesday.
"We had over 80 employees depart the [regional office] in the past month," said Hannah Sanders, parliamentarian with AFGE Local 3631. "We are already working harder trying to pick up the slack, taking on extra duties outside of what we are assigned to make sure the work of our agency gets done."
The nature of the EPA's investigation into the dissenting employees and its potential impact on their long-term employment status is unclear. The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the demonstration.