IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The president of the nation’s largest union for federal workers said Monday the organization’s ongoing staff downsizing will devastate the services it provides members and threatens the group’s survival.
Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March removed over 200,000 of its dues-paying members, or about two-thirds of the total.
The order stripped union rights from employees in several executive branch agencies, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
AFGE and other unions are fighting the order in court as illegal and retaliatory. But Kelley said the order has already taken a “very direct hit” on the group’s finances because agencies stopped collecting union dues from paychecks.
Saying it had lost over half of its dues revenue and faced a major budget shortfall, AFGE’s National Executive Council last month approved a plan to slash its staffing levels from 355 to 151. The union has offered early retirements and buyouts to some staff, and employees are anticipating layoffs in the coming days.
“It’s going to be devastating,” Kelley told reporters on a Zoom conference celebrating Public Service Recognition Week. “I don’t know if we’ll overcome it, to be honest with you, because members have joined this union because they expect us to provide a certain amount of services.”
Local unions have already been warned that they will face longer response times from national staff members and less legal help on non-essential matters.
Kelley said AFGE is pushing its remaining members to sign up to have their dues withdrawn automatically from their bank accounts. The union said Monday that about 120,000 of its members have signed up. In all, the union represents about 820,000 federal workers.
Kelley said the group had been successful in pushing back against Trump's dramatic downsizing and reshaping of the federal government, filing nine lawsuits and rallying the public to its cause.
“We've been beating him in the court of law and also in the court of public opinion,” he said. “But he wants AFGE silent.”
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said Trump issued the order to cancel collective bargaining agreements that he believed risked national security interests.
“He will always prioritize public safety for the American people,” she said.
FILE - Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, deliver the invocation at the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers are opening the practice window for star linebacker Fred Warner with the hope that he could return if the team reaches the NFC title game.
Warner has been out since breaking and dislocating his right ankle in a loss at Tampa Bay on Oct. 12, with coach Kyle Shanahan initially describing it as a season-ending injury.
But Warner has been rehabbing since then and even was able to run on a side field last week during practice. Now he will be back officially at practice as the 49ers prepare to play Seattle in the divisional round on Saturday night and could return if San Francisco wins.
“We’re not doing much so he’ll walk through out there with us today and things like that, but hoping he can be ready for next week,” Shanahan said Tuesday.
Warner's presence on the practice field even for a walkthrough provided an emotional lift for the 49ers.
“For someone who really set the standard here, I would do anything to play with him again this year,” defensive tackle Kalia Davis said. “We want him back out there.”
Eric Kendricks is currently manning Warner's spot at middle linebacker after backup Tatum Bethune got hurt but wasn't ready to talk about what Warner's possible return would do for the team.
“We’re aren’t going to talk about next week, right? We’ve got Seattle,” Kendricks said. “We’ve got to beat Seattle. Let’s pump our brakes. We have to beat Seattle this week. .. This is what meaningful football is all about.”
The 49ers have made it this far despite losing their top two defensive players to injuries early in the season, with defensive end Nick Bosa going down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 3 and Warner getting hurt in Week 6.
Warner has been pushing to make a return and if he can, that would provide a needed boost. But Shanahan said the final decision will be in the hands of the team doctors.
“If he feels good and tells me he’s good, I’m probably going to think he is and trust him to get out there,” Shanahan said. “But you can't always think with your heart and emotionally. So you ask doctors where he’s at, all the things that these guys have to pass, just protocols that we have in with just sprinting and jumping and things like that. He’s got to hit all those before we feel it’s safe.”
But Shanahan added that as soon as the doctors clear Warner, "obviously it’ll be zero decision on my part.”
Warner had been a first-team All-Pro three straight seasons from 2022-24 and made the squad in 2020. His 947 career tackles are the second most for the team, behind Patrick Willis’ 950, as far as records go back to 2000.
Warner had missed only one game in his eight-year career before this injury, sitting out in 2021 with a hamstring injury. He played most of last season with a broken bone in his ankle and still earned All-Pro honors.
Warner signed a three-year extension worth $63 million in the offseason, keeping him under contract with the team through the 2029 season.
In other injury news, safety Ji'Ayir Brown (hamstring) and Luke Gifford (quadriceps) all would have been unable to practice had the team held a session. Receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee), linebacker Dee Winters (ankle), guard Dominick Puni (ankle) and defensive lineman Keion White (groin, hamstring) all would have been limited.
Shanahan also said tight end George Kittle is set to have surgery on his ruptured Achilles tendon on Wednesday. Kittle went on injured reserve Tuesday and tight end Brayden Willis was signed from the practice squad.
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FILE - San Francisco 49ers middle linebacker Fred Warner is carted off the field during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken, File)
FILE - San Francisco 49ers middle linebacker Fred Warner (54) runs to the locker room after pregame warm-ups before an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct 12, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Peter Joneleit, File)
