Federal worker buyouts could impact VA, MSP Airport, union says
Buyout deadline looms for federal workers
President Donald Trump offered 2 million federal employees a buyout, and it could affect the VA and the MSP Airport. FOX 9's Mike Manzoni has the latest.
(FOX 9) - The Trump administration on Tuesday offered buyouts to two million federal employees, part of an effort to rapidly shrink the size of the government and increase efficiency.
Unclear how many of Minnesota’s 18K federal workers will accept buyout
The backstory:
In an email on Tuesday, the Trump administration offered a buyout to two million federal workers that includes full pay and benefits for eight months. The deadline for employees to decide is Feb. 6. Minnesota has about 18,000 federal employees who work in Social Security offices, Veterans Affairs hospitals and passport offices, to name a few.
The Trump administration said it expects between 5 and 10 percent of the federal workforce to quit, which it said would save taxpayers about $100 billion a year.
What they're saying:
"They don’t like it, they don’t like the tone, they feel like they’re attempting to be forced out of a position…." said Ruark Hotopp, national vice president of AFGE District 8, the union that represents about half of the state’s federal workforce. "There could be a very real impact very quickly depending on how many folks might try to take this."
What services could be impacted
Dig deeper:
Hotopp said Veterans Affairs hospitals as well as MSP Airport would likely experience an immediate impact.
"[It’s] awfully hard to administer health care when you’ve got VA nurses and doctors and staff no longer there," he said. "You’ve got your security officers right there in Minneapolis – a busy airport. Suddenly, we have to worry if a whole bunch of them are no longer employed…."
Who isn’t eligible:
The buyouts were not offered to postal service workers or those who work in immigration or national security positions. The military is also exempt.
What's next:
The deadline for federal employees to decide is Feb. 6.