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Almost 200 federal workers to take “civil disobedience” class

One hundred and eighty federal workers have signed up to take “civil disobedience” class on how to resist the Trump administration.

Dozens of federal workers have reportedly attended a support group for civil servants that serves as a forum for discussing opposition to the Trump administration. Some federal employees have already expressed defiance against the Trump administration following a gag order, which has since been lifted, that restricted the Environmental Protection Agency and departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services from contacting the press or posting about the administration on social media.

This will not end well for these federal workers, which in the long run will be good for the American public. These people are not qualified to work in the federal government, because they think they are there to tell us what to do, rather than work for the American taxpayer who pays their salary. They will “resist”, Trump will find out who they are, and then he will fire them.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
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14 comments

  • Garry

    I fear that there will be no real consequences for these federal employees, which may enbolden others. Only political appointees serve at the pleasure of the president; civil service employees can only be fired through great difficulty.

    If Trump is successful in undoing this gordian knot, it will bring he biggest adjustment to the federal government via the private sector. If he is not, then he will have to make his biggest adjustment from his private sector experience.

    Trump’s will need some help to be successful, either from congress or from a states’ convention.

    More than any other issue, this will determine our trajectory into the future.

  • Garry: If these federal employees resist blatantly, then I can see Congress and Trump moving to change the civil service laws to make it easier to fire them. This idea was already mentioned during the campaign.

  • Wayne

    Garry–
    Good stuff.

    (We need to go, on a Mole-Hunt.)

    Initial briefing from The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
    https://youtu.be/NmmWkJtuxz4
    (2:45)

  • Garry

    Mr. Z, I can definitely see Trump making a serious effort to change the laws, but I’m not convinced that Congress has the intestinal fortitude to persevere in the face of the unprecedented whining that will come from the Democrats. I see this as the key battle in the war to change the trajectory of our country, and will be viewed as an existential threat by the Democrats. It’s not only a matter of getting federal workers to do their jobs properly, but would open the door to cutting federal jobs drastically, which Democrats do not want.

    Sure, they have overplayed that hand, portraying almost everything as an existential threat, but this one really is and I expect them to fight harder than they ever have.

    Somebody should be compiling and highlighting the most outrageous cases (such as the VA nurse who performed an operation while intoxicated) and the get the public behind this effort.

    Federal workers should have no more job security than those of us in the private sector.

  • LocalFluff

    Even if anti-islamic parties win in Western Europe, the governments will cease to exist through strikes and sabotage by the civil servants. The world is watching and learning from the US example. In Europe government is much more important, people are less independent and the civil servants are politically very rectified. And there are no Trumps around with great experience with negotiating and recruiting and organizing and marketing. If Le Pen, who’s background before she inherited her post from her father, is as a criminal lawyer (like Hillary Clinton) which isn’t relevant for any leadership skills, if she wins the election this spring, France will be in full civil war with half the police and soldiers on either side and millions of violent leftists and islamists rioting on the streets while all government services are out of function and the unions arrange a general strike. Power outage and no payments being possible, no production anywhere in the society. It seems as if Trump came to power in the nick of time, in Western Europe it is already too late, Europe will soon become a part of the Middle East, the most violent and poorest region in the world.

  • jburn

    If this “civil disobedience” among civil servants becomes widespread, it will be a prefect opportunity for President Trump to dissolve the unions representing these Federal “workers”. If I recall correctly, Kennedy allowed the creation of these unions via an Executive order — it’s quite possible they can, similarly, be undone.

  • wayne

    jburn–
    Executive order 10988 by JFK, and modified by Nixon via order 11491.
    (Federal workers were specifically exempted under the Wagner Act in 1937, even FDR knew public-sector unions were a bad idea.)

  • Joe

    Just great Wayne, another book I must go to the book store for!

  • wayne

    Joe-
    It’s always a Mole hunt!

    Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
    1979 Trailer
    https://youtu.be/5h1XZ0LzVg4
    (1:41)

  • ken anthony

    The left is used to dealing with the stupid party. Trump is a different animal. Trump, unlike typical republicans, is focused on results. Rules are just the terrain. The battle is won by maneuver. The left is totally outmaneuvered by the election results.

    Trump doesn’t need to be a genius to beat them… just relentless. The more the left whines and lashes out, the more the people will realize their playbook doesn’t work in this new environment.

  • Janice

    Okay so when and where is the training? I’d like to attend.

  • mike shupp

    Janice —

    Here’s the URL for the Washington Post story from two days ago that got this thread rolling:

    Here’s the actual text:

    At a church in Columbia Heights last weekend, dozens of federal workers attended a support group for civil servants seeking a forum to discuss their opposition to the Trump administration. And 180 federal employees have signed up for a workshop next weekend, where experts will offer advice on workers’ rights and how they can express civil disobedience.

    So, one answer for your question, you might go to church. (Lots of precedence for this — The Reverend Martin Luther King did a lot of organizational work with church-goers back in the days when he was infuriating conservatives.)

    For another, this sounds like the sort of one-day “Learn Your Rights As An Employee” course that a lot of universities offer in extension learning sessions, or even in high school night courses. So, a second answer to your question, look around for adult learning courses.

    Third possibility, you mighty look for a good book on employment law and worker rights. I’ll bet Wayne could recommend one! And Jeff Bezos, who owns that awful Washington Post, also owns an obscure on-line bookstore called Amazon, that would be happy to sell you such a book.

    So there are all sorts of possibilities which will sicken and dismay your fellow readers here!

    Enjoy!

  • wayne

    Mike–
    Federal employment law is a specialty practice unto itself, that’s about all I know.

    The Hatch Act covers “political activity” by employees of the Executive Branch.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatch_Act_of_1939
    (they can’t, engage in “political activity. And nobody gets to ‘not perform their job duties.’)

    Now that I think about this a little deeper, exactly who are these “200 Federal workers?” What are their specific jobs, titles, and duties?

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