For this Ask INDY, we received questions about everything from wage theft to remote work trends. One question stood out as particularly timely: How has local labor been impacted by government funding cuts—other than the Duke purge—as well as tariffs?
The Triangle’s federal workforce has been gutted. At the EPA’s Research Triangle Park campus—the agency’s largest facility—many workers, including my own father, were placed on administrative leave in the spring, and leaked plans indicate that as much as 75 percent of the Office of Research and Development workforce could be laid off in coming months. Meanwhile, workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which employs a number of Durham residents, including four federally appointed financial regulators, faced mass layoffs in April before a judge temporarily halted them; those employees remain in limbo pending an ongoing court case.
Hundreds of local workers who were either directly employed by USAID or who held positions at organizations like RTI, FHI 360, and NIEHS, which rely on USAID, NIH, and other government funding, have lost their jobs.The refugee resettlement group Church World Service of Durham announced in March that it was furloughing two-thirds of its staff. A few weeks ago, Urban Ministries of Durham, which helps feed, clothe, and provide shelter for some 6,000 people each year, announced a series of cost reduction measures, including staff layoffs, in response to federal cuts. Pretty much every scientific and social agency across the Triangle is slashing staff as grant support evaporates.
The ripple effects spread even wider to organizations that rely on contributions from organizations that rely on federal funding. Legal Aid of North Carolina, for example, which provides legal services to low-income residents, faces potential elimination of its largest funding source—Legal Services Corporation—threatening jobs for attorneys who serve all 100 counties.
Now, about those tariffs. Much of the impact is yet to come. Restaurant owners have reported surging prices for commercial equipment—one local bakery owner told me in April he expected to pay $10,000 to $15,000 extra for a piece of machinery. Even businesses that prioritize buying local still need to import goods that are made or processed outside the U.S.
These costs could certainly trickle down to workers. Restaurant owners could raise menu prices to offset price increases, which could lead to lower tips from customers. Staff could see their hours cut as owners try to run leaner operations.
As for organizing in this crisis? North Carolina isn’t exactly fertile ground for labor power. But service industry workers can join the Union of Southern Service Workers, which shows up in force to protests and strikes, helps workers file unfair labor practice complaints, and provides know-your-rights trainings. The North Carolina chapter of the AFL-CIO has been connecting laid-off workers with resources and pressuring elected officials to act, and unions representing federal workers at EPA, the CFPB, and other agencies are fighting proposed reductions and advocating for their members. And there’s always room for new labor movements to form, whether within individual workplaces or across sectors.
Follow Staff Writer Lena Geller on Bluesky or email [email protected]. Comment on this story at [email protected]