As the Trump administration pushes sweeping changes to the federal government’s structure, one agency stands as a canary in the coal mine: the U.S. Department of Labor.

My interview with leaders of AFGE Local 2391 — which represents federal employees in the Department’s Pacific Region — reveals the dire consequences of proposed workforce reductions, early retirement offers, and ideological shifts in governance.

For union president Aliyah Levin, executive vice president Rob Sax and vice president Omar Algeciras, this moment is not just about protecting jobs but about protecting the mission of the department and, by extension, the public.

At the core of the union leaders' concerns is the Trump administration’s clear hostility toward federal civil servants. As Levin put it bluntly, “What is wrong with this administration that they've made public servants the enemy?”

Across agencies, career employees are being pushed out, including through incentives like deferred resignations and potential early retirement packages that could lower eligibility thresholds from 20 years of service to 15. Planned reductions in force include as much as 90 percent for some units in the Labor Department, such as the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which ensures that employers doing business with the Federal government comply with non-discrimination regulations. Such policies seem at odds with the administration’s supposed intention to combat antisemitism.

According to Sax, “If that happens, easily 10 to 15 percent of the workforce could leave — and not just any........

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