Since cultural musicians are prohibited from acting to posters related to the diversity they are withdrawn, the federal agency workers say that professional groups destined to support employees, many of which come from marginalized origins, are threatened by the Executive order of President Donald Trump who seeks to end the government. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Several federal agencies told NBC News that their employee resource groups (ERG), which are voluntary affinity groups and directed by employees, have stopped, with meetings and events canceled abruptly to comply with the executive order. Others involved in the ERG said that they closed their groups themselves preventively or eliminated the email distribution lists for fear that any possible breach with the directive can threaten their work.
The impact, the workers say, has been devastating and has already begun to change the work environment to worse.
“I have been here for four years, and at that time, we have progressed to help employees have a better lived work experience,” said an employee of the Treasury Department that belongs to an ERG related to LGBTQ but requested the fear anonymity to reprisals. “Four years later, in the clipid of fingers, our work is completely getting rid. … It is a step forward, two steps back. I feel despair at this time. ”
The White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said in a statement that the measure was an example of “promises made, promises maintained.”
“President Trump campaigned to end Dei’s scourge of our federal government and return to the United States to a merit -based society where people are hired based on their skills, not by the color of their skin,” he said. “This is another victory for Americans of all races, religions and creeds.”
The changes in the ERG began shortly after Trump’s first day in office last week, during which he signed the executive order that points to the Dei programs, which has labeled as an example of “immense public waste and shameful discrimination.” Although the administration has begun to put federal license employees whose work is classified under “Dei”, those who spoke with NBC News said they were surprised that the directive has also extended to their volunteer groups, many of which many of whom They operate socially and offer a space for people to connect, make friends and networks.
A federal employee who works in an organization related to science and technology, who also requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, said that the activities of the resource group in his agency were arrested last week, and one hour and a meeting They eliminated from their calendar. In addition, he said that a voluntary musical group that was part of the Hispanic group leadership told him that he could no longer perform at any official event.
In the past, the group made appearances at company parties, retirement celebrations and more. Now, its practice capacity even in federal properties is in the air, he said. That said, since the ERGs were much more than a collection of people with a common history, and many members of the groups dedicated part of their personal time to attend events, organize celebrations and more.
“They were a really strong signal for the workforce that they believed that belonging was an important part of their job satisfaction and their ability to make their complete being work,” he said about the groups. “You felt you belonged there.”
Another worker of a different federal agency who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals and directed a group of resources related to LGBTQ said that “he has never been more scared at work.” He mentioned that he had been instructed last week to remove the internal website of his ERG immediately. But when he tried to do it, he said, he discovered that the page had already been scrubbing, and now little a message of “access denied.”
The instructions have been alarming since its ERG has never been used to “promote or boost any type of policy,” said the worker. He explained that the group usually gathers for exits such as baseball games, or monthly zoom calls to catch up.
“There are affinity groups for parents of disabled or disabled physical children. It provides people’s ability to meet people, share positions in life and identify struggles and ways to overcome struggles, ”he said.
The experience has left him anxious for what is to come, said the worker. He explained that he and his fellow members of the group have decided to dissolve the ERG and get rid of the distribution lists, who fear that they can be used to attack employees in the future. The measure was also in the light of a recent memorandum of the Office of Personnel Management that, in part, instructed the agency and department leaders to provide Dei office lists in their divisions and employees.
“We move on and eliminate everything else, because we do not want people to be dragged to become part of a list,” said the worker. “That was a really sad step: having to pull the trigger ourselves and end up eliminating all our existence.”
The employee of the Treasury said that the members of Prism, the ERG related to LGBTQ, so far they have not received official guidance on the group. But the employee, who uses them/they pronouns, said that some have been encouraged “by some in the department to transfer the activities of the group to private communications from friends to friends. They said they have also eliminated their distribution lists by email from email a great precaution.
The worker, who mentioned that he witnessed the elimination of a poster entitled: “Labor discrimination is illegal,” he said that many have compared recent changes in Dei related programs and ERG to a possible lavender scare, in the that thousands of gay employees were fired or pushed to renounce the Federal Labor Force from the 1940s to the 1960s due to their sexuality.
“Everyone is very nervous that even being at work will result in being perceived as a ‘hiring of Dei’ and being attacked for extraction and not knowing if they were released by the nature of their work or because they are LGBT”, them, “they They “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they ” , they “, them”, them “, them”, them, “they”, them, “they”, them, “they”, them, “they”, them, “they”, them, “they,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they, ” They “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they ” , they “, them,” they “, them,” they “, them,” they, “they.” saying.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to the request for comments from NBC News.
The changes in ERG are among a flood of new directives that affect the federal government under the Trump administration. The president not only ordered that the Offices and programs of Dei close, but also issued an order separate Psychiatric and Psychiatric Affairs “” Severos “complete paralysis” to be hired on other people. And in an email obtained by NBC News, the mentors of a internship program of the State Department were ordered to report any project related to DEI and separate any intern that works in those projects.