Philadelphia librarian creates a safe space for federal workers facing attacks

As federal workers faced attacks and layoff threats from the new administration, Julie Zaebst heard an idea from a neighbor about helping federal workers support each other.

Zaebst is an adult and teen librarian at the Free Library of Philadelphia. She contacted her neighbor to figure out how the library could support his idea and help federal workers facing enormous uncertainty.

The result was a series of events that the library hosted throughout Philadelphia where federal workers found solidarity and support.

“It felt like a really urgent moment,” Zaebst says. “There was such an appetite among federal workers to connect with each other and connect to resources.”

Zaebst, a member of AFSCME Local 2187 (Council 47), is a winner of our union’s Never Quit Service Award. The award recognizes public service workers who go above and beyond the call of duty to make their communities better.

Kate Eckert, the branch manager, says Zaebst saw the fear and uncertainty that community members were experiencing and acted quickly to provide support.

“I was impressed with how quickly she promoted the event, and how she was able to get other neighborhood folks involved in the program very quickly,” Eckert says.

Zaebst says libraries were an important space for her growing up, “a sanctuary,” especially as a queer person who struggled with mental health. She knows how important they can be for others as well, and she’s proud to provide such a valuable public service.

“It’s just so important to have a place to go, I think, where you feel validated as your whole self, where you know adults care about you, and where there’s some consistency of what you can expect,” Zaebst says.

Zaebst’s effort is one of the many ways in which AFSCME members are standing up to this administration’s effort to fire federal workers willy-nilly. In addition to filing lawsuits, AFSCME is pushing back against billionaires like Elon Musk and anti-union extremists. They’re trying to slash the federal budget and destroy public services, all to give billionaires even bigger tax cuts.

Get Organized, or AFSCME GO, is all about making sure every AFSCME member knows what’s at stake and joins the fight to protect the services we provide.