WASHINGTON – Suitcases and large cardboard boxes rolled across the pavement outside the Department of Education’s offices this week as recently fired federal workers packed up their desks.
Waiting outside, workers were greeted with claps, cheers and whistles as they emerged from the buildings, some raising their fists in defiance. Colleagues embraced, sharing quiet words or simply holding on. Signs with various messages floated above the crowd, most thanking the workers for their public service.
What began as a smaller “clap out” outside the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), home to Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) offices, on Wednesday grew into a larger demonstration by Friday. Fired employees gathered at the Department of Education’s headquarters, joined by advocates rallying in solidarity.
About two weeks ago, workers in the department, which originally had 4,200 employees, began to hear rumblings of a large round of layoffs aimed at reducing the workforce by 50%. Some employees opted for early buyouts, while others took early retirements. The remaining 1,300 employees were subject to “reduction in force” notices, according to former employees Nikki Churchwell, of Calvert County, Maryland, from the Office of Performance and Improvement and Kaitlyn Vitez, of Alexandria, Virginia, from the Office of Communications and Outreach.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management lays out specific procedures for downsizing, which include ranking employees based on seniority and performance. However, Churchwell said the administration altered the way competitive areas were identified to bypass this process.
Veronica Greene, 56, a nearly retired worker, made her way down the path outside the OSSE, her belongings packed into two cardboard boxes stacked on a dolly. A security guard and another man, also carrying boxes, helped guide the load.
A car pulled up to the corner of the building, its windows down. A man and a woman inside waved and clapped in support. With teary eyes, Greene said, “These are my colleagues.”
“We party hard. We love each other. It’s hard to see these people leave because I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again, ” she said. “Some I might, but a lot I might not.”
Describing her experience, Greene said that she planned to retire, but this departure was not on her own terms. In just 15 to 20 minutes, the place she had considered home for decades was reduced to two boxes, after dedicating her life to student aid and loan services since 1991.
Her days were spent answering phones and sorting through mail, but it was in her office in meetings, where she said she witnessed the dedication of her colleagues.
Kelisa Wing, of Virginia, a former employee with the Office of the Deputy Secretary at the Department of Education who lives in Virginia, was escorted to her workstation around 9 a.m. on Friday with just 30 minutes to pack up her belongings.
As she moved through the office, she noticed Homeland Security personnel monitoring the building. By 11 a.m., the walls of her workspace, once decorated with family photos, potted plants and an image of Martin Luther King Jr. from the night before his assassination, were bare.
Everything had been carefully placed into a sleek black suitcase with a box stacked on top.
“All I ever wanted to be was an English teacher and look what God did, because of education,” she said. “Education saved my opportunities, so that’s what they want to take away.”
Though for Wing, the moment was bittersweet. The abrupt departure offered a sense of closure, giving her the chance to say a proper goodbye to colleagues she had worked alongside for years.
“This is an assault on public education, because people know that education is the great equalizer,” she said. “It is the way that a student, a person like me, who came from nothing from Toledo, Ohio, from nothing, can end up working in a place like this.”
Supporters gathered with former employees, holding signs of solidarity. One sign, adorned with Cookie Monster, read: Thank you! Gracias! Merci! Salamat!
Tony Sarmiento, a retired worker from Silver Spring, Maryland, who has attended 21 demonstrations in support of federal employees since the new administration took office, stood beside Greene, snapping photos and helping her with her belongings.
He said firings like these often led to deep emotional struggles, with laid-off workers battling depression and self-blame.
“So, even with the completely irrational, cruel way these closings are happening,” he said, “there’s a phenomenon where workers are so depressed, they aren’t going to blame the right person.”
Bill Bimber, a retired science and technology high school teacher with 34 years of experience in northern Virginia schools, spent many years without computers to teach his students computer repair. If it weren’t for funding programs created by the Department of Education, he may never have received computers to teach his class.
Bimber expressed his concerns that if the department is experiencing massive layoffs, programs like this that provide equipment and materials to students may no longer get off the ground.
“I know how programs from this agency, this department, have affected schools over the years, and it’s largely invisible, but it’s huge,” Bimber said. “It really is enormous what they do.”
Dressed in a Department of Education graphic tee, Washington resident Jackie Murray approached her firing with grace – after 40 years in communications and outreach – with a positive outlook on her future. After being placed on administrative leave over two months ago, the popular Murray bounced around the outside of the building with a smile and laughter.
She responded to a question about her next steps, saying, “My mouth moves a lot, so it needs to get paid because it has to eat, you know.”
For her, a support system of girlfriends, music, and scripture was key during moments like this that felt shared by many federal workers across the Washington region.
“Find you a support group that has accepted this, because there are still individuals, um, that I know who have not fully accepted this,” she added, offering advice to those in her situation.
In the coming days, there will be debates about what form the department should take and how programs should be implemented, Vitez said.
“At the end of the day, we need to do what’s best for schools…and for students and provide them the most resources and support to get the job done,” she said. “And people need more support, not less.”
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