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 policies on Tuesday to urge state bureaucrats to assistance 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 a large number of of us to reflect on something deeper how fragile our country feels right now and how uncertain our paths are going forward revealed Susan Abbott a of late fired federal worker for the U S Agency for International Growth which oversees humanitarian advancement and precaution programs in about countries Abbott declared she spent the past years working in international growth majority of in the last few days 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 multiple of us it doesn t even exist she noted 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 Regime Efficiency and Congressional Republicans have targeted the U S foreign assistance plan 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 advance for years recounted the crowd that they shouldn t be here this day 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 aid from our state because of reckless and short-sighted federal cuts he announced Kucera disclosed 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 organization six professionals six families he announced By March Kucera noted 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 mentioned As of in the modern 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 wellness 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 strategies 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 commented Coloradans affected by the cuts have come together every Tuesday at the Posner Center for International Maturation in Denver s Five Points neighborhood to strategize what can be done She reported their Colorado architecture of international growth professionals several 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 announced 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 encouragement Related Articles National Renewable Potential Laboratory lays off employees in Golden Union goes on strike at Lockheed Martin after rejecting contract offer Potential 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 tackle ever-changing tariffs uncertainty I m devastated by what s happening on a human level as members of our public my heart goes out to you reported 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 regime 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 establishment We have to Trump disclosed 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 Economic activity Now newsletter