BLUE ASH, Ohio — Around 200 people protested outside of the Blue Ash Tesla dealership Wednesday, calling for the car maker's founder to cease deep cuts in the federal workforce.
The majority of those in the crowd were federal workers like Micah Niemeier-Walsh, an employee of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Niemeier-Walsh spoke to WCPO 9 News not as an employee of the federal government, but rather as the chief steward of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3840.
"People are scared, and they're angry," she said.
Watch as we talk to protesters and Republicans about DOGE cuts:
Niemeier-Walsh said many government employees are scared to talk about the cuts across government services and more to come for fear of becoming targets of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who's dedicated the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to finding areas for cuts across the U.S.
Musk has repeatedly claimed to pursue only fraud and waste spending in the federal government, but Niemeier-Walsh said she and the other roughly 250 NIOSH employees covered by the AFGE local union fear the cuts are indiscriminate.
"My message is that you can try all you can to destroy us and scare us, but we're not going to be intimidated. We're going to fight back," she said.
As the protesters gathered, WCPO talked with Hamilton County Republican Party Chair Russell Mock. He said the reaction to cuts in the government was confusing.
"I say to those folks, we understand, we're right there with you, and this is going to take some time and it's going to be rough on people, but I think, in the end, we're $36 trillion in debt. We've got to start somewhere," Mock said.
The party chairman called deep cuts in government a fulfillment of promises Trump ran on in the 2024 election.
When we asked whether there were any red lines in government cuts, like national defense, social security and Medicaid on which the local Republican Party would stand and demand be protected, Mock said no.
"If you start saying we're only going to look at certain things then I think that looks bad. So everything is on the table at this point, and I think in the end it's going to be more efficient for all," he said.
Niemeier-Walsh urged anyone anxious about losing their jobs to either join a union with collective bargaining power or create a new one. She said the union membership at her facility in Cincinnati has nearly doubled since DOGE's work began.
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