Presidential executive orders Donald Trump, declining the federal labor, make a marked exception for public safety staff, including those who fight fire on wild soil. But constant reduction, freezing financing and hired pauses weakened the fire service strained in the country, pressing the support of employees who play a decisive role in preventing and combating blits.
Most importantly, about 700 forestry staff stopped in “Valentine’s Day” who staff who tolerate red cardThe Press Socialist Agency confirmed PROPBLICA. These workers contain other staffing jobs at the agency, but they have undergone training for fire crews, such as providing material and technical support during the sticks. They also help with the prescribed burns that reduce fuel vegetation and prevent large fires, but burns can move forward only if there are a certain number of employees to hold them. (Employees who have no admission without red card cannot perform such tasks.)
Red map staff are the “basis” of the fire force forces, and their loss will be a “significant influence”,-said Frank Baum, a member of the National Association for Forest Service, which has spent more than four decades with the agency and managed the Rocky Garry region. “There is not enough primary firefighters to do the full work to do when we have a high fire.”
Propublica talked to employees across the forest service – the management of the land area almost twice as much as California – including staff working in fire fighting, objects, sales of wood and other roles to find out how broad personnel ‘ability to function. Employees said the reductions affected by the agency, wildlife, IT and other units show that the Trump administration rejects the agency’s attention from the environment and to industry and fire struggle.
But despite the stated Trump fences, the reductions affected more than 10,000 people who are heavily firefighters. Admission to work has slowed down, as there are fewer employees to get new workers at speed, and people are confused in what names of the work you can hire. Other cuts have led to Cancellation of some curriculum and prescribed burns.
“All this is really confusing in the chaos, which is a kind,” said one propublica forestry officer.
“This agency no longer fulfills its mission,” another.
The staff asked not to be called, fearing retribution.
The Forest Service did not answer questions about the reduction than to clarify the number of stopped employees. According to the Forest Service Press About 2000 test staff – Usually new employees and those who have recently advanced, groups that have less workplace protection were fired in February. Others who are aware of the terminations, including a representative of the Federal Union and the Senate employee, said the initial number of abolished employees was 3400, but it probably decreased as the workers returned, such as the sale of timber.
The White House and a representative of the Department of Government efficiency did not respond to comment requests.
In early March, Independent Federal Council Considering Complaints of Employees The Department of Agriculture, the Mother’s Forestry Department, will be forced to restore more than 5,700 refuted test staff within 45 days. During the first weeks of returning for wages, many, including forestry staff, were put on a paid administrative vacation and did not receive work.
The administration and dodge continue to work on dismissal among the court problems for their steps. The word spread throughout the forest service in March that the leadership of the report was the lists containing the names of thousands of additional staff of the forest service that can quickly be removedAccording to some workers.
In addition, the agency’s employee reports. In December, the head of the department, who oversaw him for the fire and aviation department, left the job. The Department of Agriculture has placed an opening of work, calling a division that “support the technical needs of the interagency fire community”. This includes the supervision of the software that the fire crews are used to request equipment-all, from clothing, resistant to the hose-Add staff, so the first respondents have continuous access to rescue equipment.
The day after Trump’s inauguration, the Ministry of Agriculture removed IT work. According to an employee who knows the situation, this position remains unfilled.
The hiring of the new firefighters also drowned out against the background of the stream of the administration and the dozh, the forestry staff said.
“We really, in fact, on the board of our employees,” said the Propublica Forest Service.
Problems with the frames to coordinate the problems that preceded the second Trump administration. In order to address a large -scale budget shortage, the Forest Service under President Joe Biden stopped hiring seasonal workers last year, except for those who are working on fires. (Firefighters have seen a permanent increase in payment if it is codified Congress in a recently approved cost bill.)
However, many regular employees, including many firefighters, work on a seasonal basis and are placed on an unpaid status for several months each year when less work. The uncertainty in the federal government has forced many of these employees to abandon public work and look elsewhere.
“Some of our people have assumed other work,” said one Forest Service Propublica. “People are not going to wait.”
The decline in the legal department of the agency also stop the ability to care for the country’s forests and fight forest fires, the propublica employee said. Big -prescribed burns and other vegetation projects require inspection of the environment, the process that often focuses on lawsuits, including green groups is concerned that the efforts are too far in the removal of trees.
According to the lawyer of the Ministry of Agriculture, who worked on the projects of the forestry service, a smaller legal staff can lead to fewer assigned burns, increasing the risk of catastrophic fires. The lawyer was fired in mid -February cleaning workers.
“Whenever we lose business to the West, it means that the forest service cannot do the project at least temporarily,” the lawyer said.
“They are going to sue more and they will lose more,” said the lawyer who was restored in March Following the Council’s ruling that the mass firing of the Ministry of Agriculture was illegal.
The employee received a salary back, but was immediately put on an administrative vacation. Due to the reduction of employees’ support, it took several weeks before many returning employees were reprinted by government laptops and badges and allowed to do any work.
“The government’s efficiency is at best,” the lawyer said.
