On October 2, the day after the federal government shutdown began, Ellen Mei, a program specialist for the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, whose focus includes the federal food assistance program known as SNAP, did an interview on MSNBC.
The following day, she received an email saying she was being fired as a result of that interview.
Federal workers rallied in Boston Friday in support of Mei, who is challenging a termination she says is in violation of her First Amendment rights.
In hindsight, Mei’s predictions in those first days of the shutdown seem prescient.
“We expect that all of the states will be able to issue SNAP benefits for the month of October, but things might get a little dicey if this drags on into November or even past that,” Mei said in the interview.
She went on to describe how a suspension of SNAP could lead to hungry families and strained food pantries. All of that would play out in November as funding for the SNAP program ran out.
It was made clear at the beginning of the MSNBC interview that Mei, who is also the president of the National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 255, was speaking for herself, and was not representing the USDA.
“I have a duty as the chapter President to speak out on behalf of my coworkers, to speak about how events are affecting them,” Mei said at Friday’s rally, surrounded by unionized federal workers.
“And the administration is trying to say that I do not have that right as a labor leader. And I think I can ask the rest of labor movement here. Do I have a right to speak up?” she asked the crowd around her, who responded with an affirmative cheer.
In a written response to a question about Mei’s firing, a spokesperson for the USDA said, “during a lapse in appropriations, furloughed USDA employees are not authorized to perform any official duties, including speaking on behalf of the Department.”
The spokesperson added that the USDA “does not comment on individual personnel matters.”
Mei is not alone in facing termination for criticizing the Trump administration. Among the federal workers at Friday’s rally was Lane To, an employee in the EPA’s Boston office who was fired after signing a letter of dissent criticizing the agency’s focus on deregulation and disregard for scientific expertise.
“This is not punishment for wrongdoing. This is blatant retaliation,” To said. “This is the administration’s attempt to scare us into silence so they can carry out their destructive agenda without opposition.”
To noted that FEMA employees have been placed on leave for signing a letter similar to the one signed by EPA employees. And Jenna Norton, an NIH program director was placed on leave after speaking critically about the Trump administration.
“We did not sign away our First Amendment rights when we entered federal service, and we are not afraid to keep speaking truth to power,” To said. “I may have been fired, but that won’t stop me from fighting.”
U.S. Senator Ed Markey spoke at the rally, thanking Mei and To for their “courage, tenacity, and moral clarity.”
“Ellen and Lane, you embody the spirits of public service. You work day in and day out every day to combat hunger in our Commonwealth,” Markey said. “And you continue to speak out on behalf of the public in face of intimidation and suppression from a hostile administration. It is an honor to stand with you.”
Markey criticized efforts by the Trump administration to limit bargaining rights for unionized federal employees.
“This administration is treating federal workers as expendable, their work as unimportant, their contracts as null and void,” Markey said. “What Trump has done is not only callous and cruel and anti-worker, it is illegal. And that’s why we are out here. This isn’t a threat to [just] federal workers. It is a threat every member of every union who has fought and bargained for their rights.”
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley also spoke in defense of Mei and free speech rights.
“As her Congresswoman, as her brothers and sisters in the labor movement, as her partners in pursuit of food justice for all, as humans with a shred of decency and conscience, we are here to say that while you might be willing to make the sacrifice, Ellen, we will not allow you to be a martyr,” Pressley said. “We will not keep our heads down and hope the worst of this administration’s hurt and harm falls on someone else.”
Mei is challenging her termination, and says the USDA estimated they’ll make a decision within 30 days of the end of the shutdown.
“If they decide after I make my formal reply and appeal to fire me, then with NTEU, my union, we will be pursuing legal action,” Mei said. “But that’s as far as I can say right now. I want continue working at USDA ... I haven’t thought about pursuing another job outside of that because I want to keep working.”
