Federal workers appear to be cooking up a plot to thwart the Trump administration’s plan to cut down the federal workforce.
It comes after the Trump administration started sending out emails to thousands of federal workers Tuesday evening offering them a ‘buyout’ to voluntarily leave their government positions but remain on the payroll for months.
The administration has called for federal workers to return to the office and plans to offer the buyouts to up to two million workers who do not want to.
The email was linked to President Donald Trump’s executive order demanding the office return.
It said the last date to accept the offer is February 6, and employees could simply send an email from their government account with the word ‘resign’ in the subject line.
An Office of Personnel Management spokesperson said employees who accept the terms were being offered the chance to go on administrative leave at full pay through September 30.
But many government workers appear ready to reject the offer and are vowing to continue working in protest.
According to posts on the Reddit subreddit r/fednews for federal employees and contractors, workers are pushing back.
President Donald Trump at a White House event Wednesday, January 29. His administration is offering ‘buyouts’ to federal workers, but many are signaling online they plan to keep working in protest and are questioning if they would be guaranteed the pay
The administration has called for federal workers to return to the office and plans to offer the buyouts to up to two million workers who do not want to
Users have been posting thousands of posts and responses to ‘hold the line’ and ‘don’t resign.’
‘I’ll be honest, before that email went out, I was looking for any way to get out of this fresh hell,’ one post read which was upvoted more than 36,000 times. ‘But now I am fired up to make these goons as frustrated as possible, RTO be damned.’
‘They can’t fire us as easily as they thought, so they are trying to scare us into quitting, don’t fall for it!’ read another that was upvoted 16,000 times.
Multiple users noted the federal budget is only approved through March, so the pay cannot be guaranteed.
‘We took an oath to serve our country and fellow Americans. They can drag me out,’ read another.
‘I remain a proud civil servant. I remain extremely effective, remote or otherwise,’ the user wrote. ‘I’m not going to bullied out, no matter what lies they tell about me. I’m going to stay and I’m going to continue helping and serving those who need help until I literally can’t anymore.’
Another post that was upvoted 44,000 stated they were ‘last line of defense against fascism.’
‘If we leave, we will be replaced by loyalists,’ the user wrote.
Trump on Wednesday claimed federal employees who don’t show up for work at offices next month will be fired.
Union members and other federal employees stop in front of the White House in Washington during a rally to call for an end to the partial government shutdown, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019
Union members and other federal employees rally to call for an end to the partial government shutdown, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019 at AFL-CIO Headquarters in Washington
‘We have informed the federal workforce that if they’re working for the federal government, they must show up to the office on time and on schedule,’ he said at a White House event.
‘If they don’t agree by February 6 to show up back to work in their office, they will be terminated,’ he added.
Trump predicted a ‘very substantial number of people will not show up to work’ and that would make the government ‘smaller and more efficient.’
Multiple federal employees on Reddit also noted the comments of Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) who addressed the buyout proposal Tuesday. He warned the president has no authority to make the offer.
‘There’s no budget line item to pay people who are not showing up for work,’ Kaine said. ‘If you accept that offer and resign, he’ll stiff you.’
