To the Editor:

It is important for our friends on both sides of the aisle to be aware of the direct impact the actions of our current federal administration are having on our neighbors.

I recently learned of one Altamont resident who worked for a government agency and who received in February the “Fork in the Road” email, as it was known, and had to make a decision within 10 days to either resign or risk the possibility of being terminated

Further, the email stated that, if you take the deal to resign, you could not seek federal employment with another federal agency, thus limiting any future employment opportunities.

Although the agency was user-fee based, and not taxpayer funded in any way, employees there received the same letter as employees who are paid with government funds.

Only nine employees among many took that offer, and most of those people were eligible and already planning to retire within 12 months. If they agreed to resign, the deal was that they would receive their normal salary from Feb. 28 to Sept. 30, without working, and still get benefits.

However, on Feb. 18, four probationary people, those who have worked in the agency for two years or less, received an email terminating them outright with the reason stated as for poor performance.

The human resources official who had to implement these termination orders was actually in tears because stating that these people were being terminated for poor performance was untrue.

So what was accomplished here — creating a toxic environment?

Because it almost seems like a shell game, taking productive workers from a user-funded government job, paying them not to work for seven months, taking them out of the workforce, and then transitioning them to taxpayer-funded Social Security and pensions to which they no longer contribute

These efforts seem all about numbers, certainly not about the people.

This is happening to folks right here in Altamont, not just those in Washington. These are our friends and neighbors.

Yes, we are all in favor of reducing fraud and waste in the government, but there are ways to do it while also treating fellow Americans humanely, respectfully, and with proper legal protections. In my view, treating us in this way is a travesty and a betrayal of our American ideals. 

Meg Seinberg-Hughes

Altamont