OUR WORK: DEFEND AND REBUILD
Branch4 works to defend and rebuild the administrative branch of government by organizing with federal workers and partnering with communities to strengthen democracy from the inside out. Across our programs, we support worker-led organizing, policy innovation, and cross-sector coordination to protect public services, advance civil and human rights, and reimagine what a just, accountable government can be.
Our work spans three interconnected strategies: building power among federal workers, co-creating a vision for democratic governance, and coordinating efforts across the federal worker ecosystem.
Unionism for the Common Good
Federal workers who go into civil service are generally driven by a deep commitment to the public and the communities they serve. As attacks on their jobs are increasingly intertwined with attacks on the public mandates of their agencies, a growing movement within the federal sector for unionism for the common good is emerging. Unionism for the common good involves partnering deeply with communities and social movements to exercise the power of labor for the benefit of all working people. In this moment of crisis, federal unionists have come together with communities to defend their agencies and the services they provide, as well as begin the hard work of envisioning and planning how to reconstruct a much-damaged administrative branch in the future. Branch4 supports these efforts through:
Federal Unionists Network (FUN)
A network organizing 17,000+ federal workers to build a powerful labor movement at the heart of a thriving democracy. Through bottom-up union organizing, education, and mutual support, FUN empowers workers to defend public services and drive a more just, equitable, and accountable government—from the inside out.
Government for the People (G4P)
An organizing project for federal unionists to rebuild a public sector that serves all communities with equity and care.
Federal Workers for Democracy
Federal workers are a key pillar in society for the defense of democracy, equity, and rights. When countries around the globe have faced anti-democratic threats, federal workers have moved into action to protect their institutions and democratic values. For the first time, federal workers in the United States are finding themselves in this position. They are stepping up to defend their agencies’ independence and integrity, and building plans for a reconstruction that ensures a resilient and deeply democratic administrative branch. Branch4 supports these efforts through:
Democracy Renewal Group
A community of global democracy and peace building experts using their experience to protect and strengthen democracy in the United States.
Fed Collective
A collaborative of federal worker organizations and allies that seeks to (1) protect the public from immediate harm resulting from attacks on our agencies; and (2) create and enact a shared positive vision of a civil service and federal government that serves all.
Branch4 Policy and Practice Lab
A platform for federal workers to apply their expertise to rebuild a more effective, equitable, and democratic federal government that truly serves the people. The lab supports all Branch4 programs and works in deep partnership with communities to test ideas, and forever change the way the public interacts with their government.
A leadership development program for early and mid-career civil servants pushed out of government that creates community, inspires commitment to return to service, and develops leadership skills in equitable and democratic governance in partnership with impacted communities and civil society.
Race and Democracy
The Race and Democracy program supports current and former civil rights workers across the federal government to serve as truth tellers and experts. Truth tellers who step up with courage about race in our country are an essential bulwark and counter the dangerous and distorted narrative being created around race and equity in government. The program will build deep and transformative partnerships between federal worker efforts and the civil rights community, unionists, on-the-ground organizers, and faith groups to grow the intensifying push back and create a more robust vision of civil rights and racial equity for the future. Branch4 supports these efforts through:
Civil Rights
Civil rights and equity workers across the federal government are being coerced to abandon their missions and instead carry out directives that actively dismantle and reverse civil rights protections—including enabling abusive practices and discrimination by corporations, targeting DEI programs, and depriving marginalized communities of basic legal protections and services. In response, Branch4 brings together former and current and federal civil rights workers to organize in defense of just public service and the values of a multiracial democracy.
Fair Housing
Housing is a vital resource for families and fair housing is a cornerstone of an equitable society. The current Administration has reversed course on decades of fair housing work and left families and individuals without recourse, enabling abusers to discriminate and displace those who are disabled, facing violence, or being targeted for racial, national origin, and gender-based discrimination. Civil rights workers have blown the whistle on the illegal dismantling of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Office. Through congressional hearings, media, organizing, and truth telling, they are fighting to reverse the damage and ensure fair housing for all in the United States. Branch4 works to grow these efforts and ensure they are sustained, coordinated, and able to drive meaningful change.
The Future of Racial Equity
Even prior to the current attacks on civil rights and racial equity efforts in the federal government, systemic racism was a pernicious challenge across our society. The Future of Racial Equity project builds on the experience of current and former federal workers and community partners. Together, we foster collaboration to do the necessary work of reimagining systems, policies, practices, and culture in the administrative branch to build the thriving multiracial democracy we need.
