In a significant restructure of the Environmental Protection Agency's workforce, President Trump has executed a series of layoffs that have notably impacted the EPA's Chicago office. As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, the layoffs left the agency down dozens of scientists and staff who were instrumental in tackling various environmental issues.
An estimated total of more than 100 EPA Chicago-area workers have been affected by the layoffs, with some resigning, retiring, being fired, or placed on forced administrative leave. Having relocated to Chicago after working at a nonprofit in Alabama, Nyla McCranie, a former probationary employee with less than three months at the EPA, was among those who lost their jobs. In a rally held in Federal Plaza, over 200 EPA and other federal employees gathered in a demonstration of solidarity.
At this rally, flawed by how mass layoffs targeted probationary employees, many of whom were young, critical voices were raised against the downsizing measures. Nicole Smith, a life scientist at the EPA for merely two months, said in an interview covered by WTTW News, "Most of the new hires that were fired are young people that are going to be the next generation of scientists protecting clean air, clean water and clean land." Smith lamented that they were being targeted.
One of those present at the rally, Bridget Lynch, a highly qualified recent graduate focusing on groundwater and drinking water, joined her colleagues in protest. Despite her qualifications, she was dismissed with a form email that claimed she was "failing to demonstrate that my qualifications fit the role." The layoffs have cast a shadow of uncertainty even among more seasoned employees, as Luis Antonio Flores, a chemist with the agency for five years, expressed concern for his job security.
The breadth of the President's order has rippled beyond the walls of the EPA, affecting various other federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Aviation Administration. Workers from diverse backgrounds, including veterans, rallied against the decision which has uprooted careers and instilled fear given the lack of transparent performance-related justifications. A former EPA enforcement investigator and Navy veteran told WTTW News, "I'm a disabled vet and the only thing I ever asked for from this country was this job, and they took it."
Lawmakers and labor leaders are pushing back against the staffing and funding cuts which are seen not only as a means to reduce government size but also as an undermining of the functions of these key agencies. As the local and federal workforce continues to confront these sudden losses, the debate revives on the balance between governmental efficiency and the safeguarding of public health and the environment.
