Why should I donate to this cause?

USAID was the world’s premiere humanitarian agency. Its workers showed up for America to respond to disasters, fight disease, counter terrorism, and protect U.S. troops. USAID’s dismantling violates the Constitution and Congressional funding appropriations. Its closure has led to the illegal termination of thousands of American workers, among the largest and most experience foreign assistance workforce in the world.

USAID’s dismantling violates the Constitution, federal appropriations and other laws and has decimated the capacity of the U.S. Government to respond to disasters and crises, fight disease and improve lives around the world.  It has led to the wholesale and illegal termination of the largest and most experienced foreign assistance workforce in the world.  

Your donation to Justice for USAID will support the efforts of thousands of USAID Foreign Service Officers (FSO) and Civil Service (CS) employees to enforce federal law, defend their federal employment rights and hold the Administration accountable for their unconstitutional and illegal destruction of USAID. 

We anticipate that this legal process to fight USAID’s unconstitutional dismantling could take years, requiring resources, money, and time that are beyond the availability of many CS employees and FSOs. This fund offers critical support in the short, medium, and long term to those who need it.

 

Who can donate to this cause?

Anyone who is not a current or former USAID Civil Service employee or Foreign Service Officer pursuing legal action (including filing a grievance with the Merit Service Protection Board) who could benefit from this funding support can donate to Justice for USAID. 

 

Who benefits from donations?

Currently, Justice for USAID is working with law firms who are representing hundreds of USAID Civil Service employees and Foreign Service Officers filing individual appeals before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to reduce the costs associated with bringing MSPB appeals for USAID staff.  As the federal courts continue to pause injunctions and dismiss cases brought by federal employees, the MSPB has emerged as a critical–if not the critical–path to challenging the dismantling of USAID. While these efforts currently are focused on supporting challenges brought by former civil service (CS) and foreign service officer (FSO) staff, each FSO and CS appeal filed shines a light on the ways in which the Trump Administration has violated the law, demands accountability, and keeps the fight alive. Please note that Justice for USAID funds will not be used for Institutional Service Contractors (ISCs), Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs), Personal Services Contractors (PSCs), or Foreign Service Limited.

 

How does this relate to the unions’ Legal Defense Funds?

Justice for USAID is being organized by illegally fired USAID employees in partnership with Pragmatic Panic, a registered 501(c)(3) organization. While Justice for USAID with Pragmatic Panic is a separate effort to support FSOs and CS employees, we are coordinating with the legal defense funds managed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), who represent USAID staff.

 

Who runs Justice for USAID?

Justice for USAID is a volunteer-led initiative by former CS employees and FSOs who are part of Our USAID Community.