The Trump Administration Is Trying to Silence Us. It's Only Making Us Stronger

Newsweek

22-07-2025

Hurricanes. Wildfires. Floods. As federal employees with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, we're often among the first on the ground when disaster strikes—and the last to leave. From the wildfires in Maui to the devastating floods in North Carolina, we're on the ground for as long as it takes, helping communities recover and rebuild.
When we're not responding to crises, the workers at the Army Corps are performing other essential services to support the U.S. military, the public, and the economy. We design and build military bases and airfields for our troops; we clean up contaminated defense and superfund sites, and we maintain harbors and shipping channels to facilitate U.S. commerce. And while our work may not be as high-profile as other professions, it's vital for the prosperity of our communities and for reducing disaster risks.
Given the importance of our work, it's concerning that President Donald Trump seems hell-bent on dismantling it.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractors clear the remains of Lifeline Fellowship Christian Center, which burned to the ground in the Eaton Fire, on May 22, 2025, in Altadena, Calif.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractors clear the remains of Lifeline Fellowship Christian Center, which burned to the ground in the Eaton Fire, on May 22, 2025, in Altadena, Calif.It all started when President Trump took office and issued an executive order ripping away federal workers' collective bargaining rights. Through collective bargaining, workers can come together to negotiate improvements in their workplace, and perhaps most importantly, safe working conditions. For Army Corps workers, collective bargaining rights help to ensure that we have access to proper protective equipment on hazardous sites, and that rigorous safety systems are in place, even amid dangerous disaster relief missions. By negotiating these safety protocols into a binding contract, we have peace of mind knowing that proper safety precautions are being met, and that they can't be unreasonably taken away.
If we weren't able to negotiate safe working conditions, our lives would be at risk, and our families would be forced to worry even more about whether we'd make it home safely. So it's hard to understand why the Trump administration is ignoring these basic rights, even after a federal judge ruled that the president's actions likely violated the law.
What's worse, now the administration is refusing to honor the contracts that we've already negotiated, raising serious concerns about the safety of our worksites, and our ability to advocate for adequate protections.
Under normal circumstances, Army Corps workers could appeal the president's actions to the agency tasked with safeguarding our collective bargaining rights, the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). But the president created chaos at the agency when he fired the Chair, Susan Tsui Grundmann. Now the FLRA is refusing to hear our case challenging these decisions, which also means we have no access to federal courts to resolve our disagreement.
This administration isn't just breaking the law—it's breaking the system that's supposed to uphold it. And this of course is by design. Trump's attacks on unions are part of a larger effort to weaken workers' rights across the country. But as it turns out, the opposite is happening.
More Americans than ever approve of unions. And in Sacramento alone, hundreds of federal workers want to organize with our union.
It appears that Trump and his allies are underestimating federal workers at the Army Corps. Every one of us takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That oath matters. And this administration is not going to stop us from honoring it.
We're not just speaking out for ourselves. We're speaking out for the millions of Americans who rely on the services we provide, especially during times of crisis.
Trump is trying to break the civil servants at the Army Corps. But we're still here. We're still uniting more workers. And we're not going anywhere.
Colin Smalley is a geologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and president of Local 777 of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers in Chicago.
The views presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Defense or its components. This disclaimer is required by regulation.