Coloradans rally at state capitol against federal cuts and layoffs

Dozens of former federal workers and concerned citizens gathered at the state Capitol s west attempts on Tuesday to urge state representatives to patronage those affected by ongoing and upcoming federal cuts and layoffs This experience of suddenly being terminated along with thousands of people across America has forced several of us to reflect on something deeper how fragile our country feels right now and how uncertain our paths are going forward noted Susan Abbott a in the last few days fired federal worker for the U S Agency for International Progress which oversees humanitarian progress and precaution programs in about countries Abbott mentioned she spent the past years working in international growth preponderance lately with the USAID Bureau for Democracy Human Rights and Governance We truly are at an inflection point as a country and the safety net that we thought would be there is fraying frankly for several of us it doesn t even exist she commented The rally comes in response to latest layoffs of federal workers and budget cuts across various leadership sectors under President Donald Trump s administration including the February dismantling of USAID Trump Elon Musk s Department of Governing body Efficiency and Congressional Republicans have targeted the U S foreign assistance effort with accusations of waste and advancing liberal social programs Several attendees at the rally stood outside in the rain as their peers took turns sharing their experiences Terrill Kucera a former USAID subcontractor who has worked in international growth for years explained the crowd that they shouldn t be here nowadays We should be working filling the commitment we made to the American people and the communities we were serving But instead we re unemployed uninsured and asking for basic sponsorship from our state because of reckless and short-sighted federal cuts he reported Kucera revealed when layoffs hit USAID everything stopped without warning There were no payments for work completed in November and December of last year and projects that had taken years to build were abruptly abandoned My salary was cut by in the first week and I had to make one of the worst professional calls of my life which was laying off my entire squad six professionals six families he announced By March Kucera declared he was officially laid off The next day he applied for unemployment but his account was flagged for fraud and put on hold with no explanation I called dozens of times One day I called times no hold system no answers Thanks to the help of Senator Bennett s office I did get an appointment at the local office but even there no one can help me he stated As of the present day it s been days since I applied for unemployment and I ve received no benefits At the end of the month I m leaving my apartment in Congress Park because I can t afford to stay there for the first time in over years I ll be moving into a friend s spare bedroom Amy Aberra a global soundness strategist with USAID who is on administrative leave from the agency speaks to a scarce dozen people who braved the cold temperatures and driving rain to take part in a rally on the west moves of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on May Photo by Helen H Richardson The Denver Post Since the stop work order was issued Abbott stated Coloradans affected by the cuts have come together every Tuesday at the Posner Center for International Enhancement in Denver s Five Points neighborhood to strategize what can be done She disclosed their Colorado infrastructure of international growth professionals a large number of of whom attended the rally now includes more than people That s hundreds of Coloradans who are suddenly unemployed terminated for convenience despite serving as agricultural experts humanitarian workers scientists aid professionals human rights advocates researchers and diplomats Abbott reported Those at the rally like Abbott and Kucera urged lawmakers to press the bureaucracy to fast-track unemployment benefits and extend unemployment eligibility Following the rally attendees were invited into the Capitol where Democratic State Sens Matt Ball Judy Amabile and James Coleman addressed the crowd assuring both former and current workers of their ongoing promotion Related Articles National Renewable Force Laboratory lays off employees in Golden Union goes on strike at Lockheed Martin after rejecting contract offer Resource park in mix for what should replace Xcel s last coal plant in state Denver Fire Department won t train new firefighters EMTs this year Denver-area small businesses confront ever-changing tariffs uncertainty I m devastated by what s happening on a human level as members of our area my heart goes out to you noted Ball who offered to host a town hall to discuss federal worker layoffs and Colorado unemployment Just know we are laser focused on trying to protect Colorado in the face of the federal authorities Americans are divided over Trump s and DOGE s mass firings as a CBS News and YouGov poll conducted in February revealed that of respondents approve of the staff cuts while disapprove We re cutting down the size of leadership We have to Trump declared during the first Cabinet meeting of his second term We re bloated We re sloppy We have a lot of people that aren t doing their job Get more business news by signing up for our Market Now newsletter