Unions Claim USDA Overhaul Will Gut Agency

Reuter’s Daniel Wiessner reported that, “a group of unions, nonprofits and U.S. municipalities has asked a federal judge to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s planned reorganization, including the relocation of more than 2,500 employees based in the District of Columbia.”

“The coalition of plaintiffs said in ​a filing in San Francisco federal court late Wednesday that the plan announced earlier this year would hinder the USDA’s ability ‌to provide nutritional assistance to women and children, support farmers and ensure the safety of the food supply, among other critical functions,” Wiessner reported. “Led by the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal worker union, the plaintiffs asked U.S. District ​Judge Susan Illston to block the USDA from implementing its reorganization plan pending further litigation.”

The coalition of plaintiffs said in ​a filing in San Francisco federal court late Wednesday that the plan announced earlier this year would hinder the USDA’s ability ‌to provide nutritional assistance to women and children, support farmers and ensure the safety of the food supply, among other critical functions.

Reorganization Would Cut 23% of USDA Workforce

E&E News’ reporters Hassan Ali Kanu and Grace Yarrow reported that, “the reorganization was intended to reduce USDA’s workforce ‘by approximately 23,177 which is a 23% overall reduction,’ according to the 2025 internal planning documents. Officials added that they expect that ‘a significant number of employees will decline geographic reassignments.’ Thousands of USDA employees across the country took buyout offers last year, and unions have warned that most employees who declined buyout offers would also decline offers to relocate.”

“All aspects of relocation must be completed within one year of the effective reassignment date, according to answers on a list of FAQs about the reassignment plan obtained by POLITICO last month,” E&E News reported. “Employees who decline to relocate will effectively resign or retire, according to the agency.”

“The unions and other plaintiffs in Wednesday’s filing said the ​agency is forcing workers to ​choose between moving to far-flung areas ⁠or losing their jobs, a move that will likely cause dramatic attrition, impair vital services and interrupt important research,” Wiessner reported. “Some workers could be relocated as soon as next month, according to the filing. The plaintiffs ​claim the reorganization plan is unlawful because it is arbitrary and capricious and was not authorized by ​Congress.”

Past Relocation Offers Caused Major Staffing Losses

Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman reported, “USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said the reorganization plan ‘is not a large-scale workforce reduction.’ But in an April 2025 document, outlining its workforce reduction and agency restructuring plan to the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management, USDA wrote it ‘is anticipating that a significant number of employees will decline geographic reassignments out of the [national capital region] or existing regional or state offices to the five target hub locations.’”

“The government employees’ unions said the now-public USDA plans confirm that the administration’s goal is to ‘arbitrarily and without congressional authorization’ downsize the department,” E&E News reported. “The reorganization planning document opens with a reference to President Donald Trump’s executive order regarding the Department of Government Efficiency, which directed agencies to shrink and overhaul the federal bureaucracy.”

“The plaintiffs also point out that USDA agencies saw major staffing losses when it relocated hundreds of D.C.-based employees to Kansas City under the first Trump administration — a much smaller plan than what USDA is proposing under the second Trump term,” Heckman reported. 

“‘USDA’s actions will force many of the experienced and dedicated employees who run the agency’s programs to leave, thereby gutting programs, interrupting and eliminating the delivery of important services, and harming the employees and their families,’ the unions wrote,” Heckman reported. “‘The harms are as certain and as widespread as if USDA had imposed a large-scale reduction-in-force and cut program staff directly.’”

‘USDA’s actions will force many of the experienced and dedicated employees who run the agency’s programs to leave, thereby gutting programs, interrupting and eliminating the delivery of important services, and harming the employees and their families,’ the unions wrote.

Injunction Seeks to Block Reorganizing and Downsizing

“The unions are seeking a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that would block the Trump administration from ‘reorganizing or downsizing any component USDA agency or subagency, including closing, moving, or consolidating offices or transferring programs or functions between offices,’” Heckman reported. “That includes prohibiting USDA from sending any additional relocation notices to employees, or taking any action to remove employees who already declined relocation.”

“The case is ⁠American Federation of Government Employees v. Trump, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 3:25-cv-3698,” Wiessner reported.