In today’s News & Commentary, Trump spending cuts continue to threaten federal workers, and Google AI workers allege violations of labor rights.

Trump’s massive federal spending cuts have put millions of workers, both inside and outside the federal government, in jeopardy. Yesterday, thousands of workers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs research office were informed they would not be retained. 83% of the office’s 4600 employees are on time-limited research appointments. The administration was told it cannot retain employees after their appointments end. The VA’s research has led to a number of medical innovations, including the first implantable cardiac pacemaker and the nicotine patch. “This move will effectively mean the end of VA research as we know it in red and blue states,” said Senator Patty Murray. 

The research positions at the VA are but the latest in massive layoffs. Some 20,000 federal workers have been fired, and the positions of the 200,000 probationary employees have been threatened. But fired federal workers are fighting back. Workers protested at 30 “Save our Services” rallies across the country on Wednesday, speaking out against Elon Musk’s actions, which they dub a “corporate coup”. 

Outside the federal government, Trump’s failure to enforce and support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is undermines protections for nearly 3 million pregnant workers. In the face of state attacks against the law, which guarantees basic accommodations for pregnant workers, the Trump administration has undercut the EEOC, which enforces the PWFA. 

Alphabet Workers United filed an NLRB complaint Tuesday against GlobalLogic Inc., which manages a group off nearly 2,000 employees creating Google’s AI products. It claims that the Google vendor prohibited discussion of wages in online internal forums. One employee alleges he was fired in retaliation for violating that policy. But federal labor law protects rights of employees to discuss and take action about working conditions.