The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is an American labor union representing over 820,000 employees of the federal government and the District of Columbia.[2] AFGE is the largest union for civilian, non-postal federal employees and the largest union for District of Columbia employees who report directly to the mayor (i.e., outside D.C. public schools). It is affiliated with the AFL–CIO.[3]
AFGE is a federation of local unions, with each local maintaining autonomy through operating under local constitutions that comply with the AFGE national constitution ratified during its founding in 1932. Its headquarters is in Washington, D.C.
Labor relations in the federal sector are governed by the Federal Labor Relations Authority, an independent federal agency, and federal sector unions have recourse to binding arbitration and to the Federal Services Impasses Panel to resolve impasses. Under 5U.S.C.§7311 and 18U.S.C.§1918, federal employees are prohibited from striking against the United States government, and doing so is a criminal offense.
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Original AFGE logo
Since the Lloyd–La Follette Act of 1912, federal and postal employees have been granted the right to join and form labor organizations. The act also prohibits federal employees from striking.[4] Prior to the establishment of AFGE, a small number of federal workers were represented by the Knights of Labor and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE). The NFFE received a charter from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1917. AFGE was founded in August 1932 by local unions affiliated with the AFL that broke away from the NFFE after it became independent of the AFL.[5] AFGE's motto was established as "To Do For All That Which No One Can Do For Oneself". Its original emblem was a shield with the stars and stripes and the words "Justice, Fraternity, Progress".
AFGE’s constituent units were referred to as lodges until 1968, when they were renamed locals. A local may represent a single bargaining unit or multiple bargaining units, depending on the agency.[6]
Executive Order 10988 issued by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 granted federal employees the right to collective bargaining. Federal employees' right to organize and bargain binding labor contracts was established in law by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which AFGE helped to draft, and which states that collective bargaining in the federal sector is in the public interest while also barring the right to strike.
AFGE's 2009 court suits stopped aspects of the George W. Bush administration's "National Security Personnel System" (for DOD) and MAXHR (for DHS), and AFGE also won changes to law that make the contracting out process more balanced[according to whom?] in regard to federal employees' interests. In 2010, the Obama administration issued an executive order for the federal government to focus on insourcing federal jobs rather than outsourcing them overseas or to contractors.
In August 2015, AFGE at its national convention decided its official colors are blue and gold.
In April 2025, a coalition of labor unions including AFGE, non-profit organizations, and local governments sued President Donald J. Trump, United States federal executive departments, and Trump's second cabinet over the federal mass layoffs in his second term in the lawsuit AFGE v. Trump.
The current emblem is three workers supporting a globe with a map of the United States and the words "Proud to Make America Work".
Organization
Berniece Heffner was the first national Secretary and Treasurer of AFGE.Henrietta Olding, shown here in 1917, was an early vice president of District 2 and a labor and women’s rights activist.
AFGE is led by a National Executive Council, made up of a National President, National Secretary-Treasurer, National Vice President for Women's and Fair Practices, and 12 National Vice Presidents who oversee geographic districts and are elected at District caucuses.[8]
AFGE members hold a silent protest to demand that Congress avoid another government shutdown, 2019.AFGE rally against Department of Veterans Affair budget cuts, 2012.
For AFGE, collective bargaining responsibilities are delegated to numbered "Councils of Locals" at major agencies, including the following:
All federal sector union membership is voluntary, as the law prohibits closed shops. Federal employees are barred from being candidates for partisan political office, and no dues money may be spent on partisan political campaigns.
AFGE began with 562 members in 1932 and quickly grew to 37,199 members across 328 lodges (now locals) by 1936.[6]
Dues-paying membership was reported as 197,096 at the end of fiscal year 2000. This number peaked in fiscal year 2018 with 332,977 members. By 2024, the number was 319,825.[32] Approximately 42% of AFGE membership came from the National VA Council in 2024.[33]
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