Several hundred people, including many federal government workers who recently were fired as part of the mass federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) job-cutting actions, attended a free constituent services job summit at Greenbelt Middle School (GMS) on Saturday, March 1, hosted by city, county, state and federal government officials in Maryland.
The many governmental, political and union officials who were organizers of the event included U.S. Representative Glenn Ivey (District 4) and Prince George’s County Councilmember-At-Large Jolene Ivey. Greenbelt Mayor Emmett Jordan and Greenbelt City Manager Josué Salmerón also attended the event.
In the cafeteria, a capacity crowd heard from, and addressed questions to, a panel of leaders of various labor unions representing federal employees. Those officials gave updates about actions to fight the DOGE firings, calling them illegal, unethical and unconstitutional. The recent DOGE actions, they said, do not properly adhere to, or are even counter to, legally established constitutional and legislative governmental rules, laws, policies, procedures and regulations, and have been ruled illegal and/or unconstitutional by several federal judges. Attendees were given the opportunity to speak and as expected, most were angry about the abrupt, chaotic firings.
In the gym, various experts spoke to large crowds, giving practical advice and offering guidance in dealing with the financial and life challenges suddenly thrust upon unsuspecting federal workers.
The summit also included about 20 tables set up in the hallways, offering resources and up-to-date targeted employment information about open jobs, job applications, union support and services available to recently fired workers, as well as upcoming organized protests of the DOGE cuts.
There were so many attendees at the summit that the school’s parking lot was filled to capacity. The City of Greenbelt provided a shuttle service to and from the Beltway Plaza parking lot, and many attendees parked in the nearby Franklin Park neighborhood.
