Locals organize in support of federal workers

by Nathan Boddy

Russ Lawrence has been an employer, and says that he would never have treated his workers with the, “insulting and humiliating tone” that was recently exemplified by Elon Musk.

Lawrence was referring to an email entitled, “What did you do last week?” which was sent by the Office of Personnel Management at the behest of Elon Musk’s Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), and required federal workers to submit a list of five things they had accomplished the week prior. Musk had posted on X that, “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” According to CBS News, some federal workers received a second request on Friday, February 28, which indicated that weekly check-ins would be ongoing.

According to Lawrence, the letters demean the value of the work done by federal employees by requiring them to continually justify their existence, and come on the heels of large-scale layoffs of federal workers that has included hundreds in Montana.

Lawrence’s frustration led him to contact Linda Schmitt, the Chair of the Ravalli County Democratic Central Committee, to gauge her interest in a show of support. Schmitt has taken on the task, and is organizing a rally at the Ravalli County Administrative Center (215 S 4th Street in Hamilton) on Tuesday, March 11. She says that she’d like to see people gather prior to the start of the 9 a.m. County Commissioners’ meeting, and then present themselves to the commissioners when the meeting opens for public comment.

Schmitt said that the intent is to make it very clear that Musk’s cutting of federal personnel is not without both social and economic impact here in the Bitterroot Valley. 

“The employees are friends, neighbors and family,” she said. “They are not the ‘Deep State’. They are not guilty of fraud, waste and abuse. To dismiss these people in the way it is being done seems criminal, certainly a violation of decency and good governance.”

Schmitt went on to say that the firings made as much sense as cutting off one’s arm to lose weight. “That is what is being done at the federal agencies. Careless, arbitrary and dangerous cutting to simply reduce numbers is just foolish and cruel.”

Schmitt is arranging for the production of lawn signs that read, “We Support Federal Workers,” and hopes they can find wide distribution. She also hopes that the signs, and the rally on March 11th, will spur Ravalli County Commissioners to act.

“We need our commissioners to go to the governor, to go to the federal representatives, and to demand that our valley be protected. The congress and the president are pretending that these firings are going to reduce the national debt, but that would be at the cost of the entire valley. And what is gained by these firings that have such devastating consequences for the valley are so small in the big picture that there’s no effect at all on reducing the national debt. None.”

The Bitterroot Star reached out to the Bitterroot National Forest but was referred to Region One Public Affairs Director, Kim Pierson, who in turn referred the Star to the National Press Desk. No one, however, responded in time for publication. However, information from an anonymous source within USFS has told the Bitterroot Star that 450 Forest Service employees in Montana and Northern Idaho were terminated on February 13.

The source went on to write, “This included about 200 employees working in recreation. They clean toilets and empty trash at campsites. It also included the trail crews that maintain and clear trails for hikers, housemen, mountain bikers, and ATV/motorcycle users. This also included over 100 employees working in timber and silviculture. These employees do the required preparation work for timber sales and replant seedlings after harvest and wildfire. Many other employees support the timber industry. Engineers develop the road packages, fisheries biologists perform the documentation required by law before timber can be sold. Although these employees were not officially firefighters, many held fire qualifications and assisted during wildfire suppression. These cuts will have a significant impact on the recreation and timber industries in Montana and Idaho. Campgrounds would close or be unmanaged, presenting public health and safety concerns. Timber sales will not stay on schedule without crews doing sale prep.” 

The source concluded by adding, “Never has a ‘chainsaw’ been proudly used to make indiscriminate and arbitrary terminations. The Washington Office added 1,000 high-graded positions in the last 4 years. Yet these DOGE cuts fired the lowest-paid employees doing all the work on the ground.”

For his part, Lawrence says that the firings are a slight to the American people, who have effectively lost their voice when it comes to the services they depend on.

“Federal employees work for me and the rest of the American public,” he said. “Federal workers are performing jobs that we, the people, through our elected representatives, said we wanted done. Whether an agency should expand or reduce its work force in view of a changing mission, that’s a discussion that should be held in Congress. It should not be the decision of one unelected, unaccountable man with no governing experience.”