02-12-2025
The American Federal of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) sued to prevent DOGE’s plan to access the Labor Department’s information systems. It argued that giving Elon Musk (the head of DOGE) the opportunity to see non-public information from OSHA investigations into his companies (Tesla, Space X, and The Boring Company) and those of his competitors posed real dangers. There is concern about what actions Musk might take against the federal workers who investigated him. OSHA investigated safety incidents, including a worker’s death at Space X.
DOGE has already gained an incredible amount of control over the 2.2 million federal workers. Musk can see sensitive Treasury Department data and personal information on employees from the Office of Personnel Management. He has unilaterally taken apart USAID. The AFL-CIO does not want DOGE members to see confidential workers’ compensation and wage theft records. It also expressed concern about DOGE’s control over the independent data at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Federal employees say supervisors directed them to give Musk and his team whatever information they wanted. They are to “do whatever they ask, not to push back, and not to ask questions.” These administrators also told employees “not to worry about any security protocols; just do it.” Their union, the American Federation of Government Employees, joined the lawsuit as did the union representing state, county, and municipal employees, the SEIU, the Communications Workers of America, and the Economic Policy Institute. Many of these individuals expressed unhappiness with Democrats, demanding that they come up with a plan and do more.