On Feb. 6, three weeks into the start of the second Trump administration, Drew Curtis was placed on administrative leave from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights in Manhattan.

So were more than 100 of his EPA co-workers, along with other federal workers whose positions were deemed to conflict with the president’s executive order to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion positions, programs and offices.

A month later, Curtis was reinstated because aspects of his community involvement coordinator position are required by statute. But in the dizzying mix of reductions in force, firings of probationary workers, early retirements and deferred resignations since January, nearly 150,000 federal workers have lost or left their jobs.

In late March, the president issued an executive order to strip collective bargaining rights from hundreds of thousands of federal employees in more than 40 federal agencies and subdivisions.

Federal workers like Curtis have now banded together across their unions and agencies in the Federal Unionists Network (FUN) to organize workers, fight the federal attacks and form alliances within the labor movement.

“The main story of the FUN is about what it means to organize a union after the president has distributed the executive order to disband your union, effectively,” said Chris Dols, one of FUN’s founders.

FUN NYC held its first big rally in February, and members have participated in “Let us work” pickets at Federal Plaza and in May Day, Hands Off, No Kings and other anti-Trump rallies.

The UFT is among the unions supporting FUN — providing office space, hosting organizing and training events at union headquarters, and participating in rallies.

Founded in 2022, FUN had a few hundred members when Donald Trump was elected president in November. It has since ballooned to over 40,000 members and allies.

The organization’s work goes beyond fighting worker layoffs, said Eileen Chen, a member of the FUN NYC organizing committee who works for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. For example, she said, it has an ongoing campaign to get ICE out of federal office buildings.

At a moment when federal workers are demoralized, FUN provides a sense of solidarity and camaraderie that they do not necessarily feel within their agencies, said Carson Raslan-Yates, a FUN member who works for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Manhattan.

“Something that I’ve really gotten out of FUN is I don’t feel as alone,” she said.

Curtis said FUN has helped him and his EPA co-workers build up AFGE Local 3911, where he is now treasurer. “That’s a big part of FUN’s mission — developing strong locals,” he said.

His co-worker Suzy Englot, who was recently elected president of Local 3911, said it’s been energizing to organize workers as part of FUN.

“In a moment where so much is uncertain and it can feel hard to hold onto things and have control over things,” she said, “it’s been a really helpful outlet.”