The Trump administration has continued implementing mass firings of federal employees with guidance from Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency aides; San Antonio officials are preparing for layoffs to hit the city. On March 3, District 8 councilmember Manny Pelaez and District 4 Adriana Rocha Garcia proposed the Reemployment Assistance of Federal Talent program to “provide essential support to displaced federal employees.”
“It was perfect timing running into Councilman Pelaez, and we both have been talking about this with people, and we thought, ‘Why not do something now?’” Rocha Garcia said.
“I met a mom [that] bought her home with her son and has been living in it for over a year, but [both] are very worried because they both go to work every day and come back not knowing if they will have a job the next day,” Rocha Garcia added. “It was heartbreaking because she is a single mom, and her son works to pay for that house, and I was thinking, ‘They could both be out of a job, creating an awful situation.’”
The plan of the proposal is to fill vacant City of San Antonio positions with qualified federal workers who were recently laid off. In order to fill these vacancies, the applications of those laid off will be quickly processed to expedite their onboarding. San Antonio Ready to Work job training will host multiple job fairs to fill city positions for industries in need of workers.
“I also happen to sit on the Workforce Solutions Alamo committee of six, and Councilman Pelaez does as well, and [on March 7], we had a meeting about all of the different industries that will need some additional employees,” Rocha Garcia said.
“It is up to each individual department. For example, the National Park Agency just had a lot of employees laid off, for instance with the Missions of San Antonio,” Rocha Garcia said. “Somebody asked me, ‘Where could [the recently laid off employees] work?’ I gave an example that the city has a big Parks and Recreation Department or the Office of Historic Preservation.”
Multiple city officials such as Mayor Ron Nirenberg have shown urgent support for the RAFT program. Nirenberg sent a memo to City Manager Erik Walsh on March 6 prioritizing the plan. Chief Executive Officer of WSA Adrian Lopez brought the idea of a hotline to reach maximum participation.
“At the same time I was having conversations with real people about their concerns and worries, the mayor was in touch with his chief of staff, in particular, trying to figure out what we should do as a city,” Rocha Garcia said. “When we put this policy proposal forward through the CCR, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff called me right away trying to find ways on how they can assist and possibly bring in the extended community.
“It kind of all just came together because Lopez came to me wanting help getting the hotline going,” Rocha Garcia said.
Council members have pushed for the governance committee to move quickly in consideration of the program, as the federal cuts will likely accelerate in the next couple of weeks.
