CINCINNATI — Some employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) office in Pleasant Ridge have been terminated, according to Micah Niemeier-Walsh, vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3840.
Niemier-Walsh said all non-union employees, which totals all supervisors in the building, were part of the termination.
He said the termination notices instructed those employees to vacate the building by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Roughly 200 members of the union also received termination notices that are effective at the end of June, Niemier-Walsh said, though he was unsure on what terms.
Hannah Echt has worked at the NIOSH office in Pleasant Ridge for the last five years. She and her team evaluate work sites to make sure there are no hazards or violations and ensure everyone is safe in the workplace.
Hear more from Echt in the video below:
"This has been my dream job," said Echt, an industrial hygienist for NIOSH. "We help workers come out of work the same way they come in. No one should have to go to work, their life shouldn't be impacted by their work just to earn a living."
Echt is now one of hundreds who have received notice that their jobs are being eliminated as of June 30.
"If we get enough support we can fight back on this," said Echt.
The union is planning to rally outside the NIOSH offices on Ridge Road at 5 p.m. Tuesday in protest of the layoffs.
The layoffs likely stem from a March 27 announcement from the US Department of Health and Human Services, which said DOGE would be restructuring the department, including combining multiple agencies into a new Administration for a Healthy America (AHA).
The announcement listed several agencies, including NIOSH, that would be combined into the future AHA. Other agencies listed were the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
"Currently, the 28 divisions of the HHS contain many redundant units," reads the announcement. "The restructuring plan will consolidate them into 15 new divisions, including a new Administration for a Healthy America, or AHA, and will centralize core functions such as human resources, information technology, procurement, external affairs and policy. Regional offices will be reduced from 10 to five."
Following the layoffs, Ohio Congressman Greg Landsman issued a statement saying hundreds were fired.
"Trump and Musk just fired hundreds of NIOSH employees in Cincinnati," reads the statement. "These folks go to work every day to protect our workers from disease and injuries. This administration is intentionally creating unemployment in southwest Ohio and all across the country — it's making us less healthy and less safe. This is pure chaos."
