WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Many federal workers are dealing with a lot of uncertainty — from an offer to resign to a return to work order.
Many workers say it’s impacting their daily commute.
Traffic on the railways and on the roadways has picked up in the last two weeks.
“I have noticed it. Originally it was just on Wednesdays because that’s usually a day when everybody is in the office but now it’s Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. Not so much Friday although I’ll be returning to the office on Friday next week,” said Willette Matthews, a federal contractor.
That’s largely because of President Trump’s return to work executive order.
On Monday, the Office of Personnel Management sent a memo to department and agency heads saying union contracts that go against management’s wishes for telework are “unlawful and cannot be enforced.”
The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal workforce union, said it plans to challenge that.
“I understand the people who are bothered and concerned about it, who have to change their lives, add money to their commute, stuff like that. I get that part. It doesn’t affect me quite as much as it does others,” said Sabrina Hampton.
The order is benefiting Metro, which says it’s seeing record ridership numbers. Monday’s 8-9 a.m. hour had 92,600 trips, the highest Monday rush since 2020.
“Metro is starting to build up a little bit, but it’s part of the job. It’s part of life so I’ll keep doing it,” Hampton said.
On the other hand, if federal workers want to accept the Trump administration’s “deferred resignation” offer they have to do so by Thursday.
“I have several friends that are in other agencies who aren’t going to take it. In this state that we’re in, most people want to keep their jobs rather than get rid of them,” Matthews said.
At least 20,000 workers have reportedly accepted the offer, though several unions filed a lawsuit Tuesday trying to stop it, calling it misleading, coercive and unlawful.
