AFSCME, the Alliance for Retired Americans and the American Federation of Teachers have sued to stop DOGE’s unlawful seizure of people’s personal, sensitive data from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
The world’s richest man, billionaire Elon Musk, heads the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The new administration has tasked Musk with gutting federal agencies and programs to fund tax cuts for billionaires.
AFSCME’s lawsuit alleges that the seizure of SSA data by DOGE violates the law, including the many protections found in the Internal Revenue Code, the Privacy Act, the Federal Information Systems Modernization Act and more.
“Elon Musk is an unelected billionaire who has no right to access the benefits working people have paid into. We won’t allow him to undermine the promise that we can all retire with dignity one day; that if we ever get hurt on the job and are unable to work, we won’t go hungry,” AFSCME President Lee Saunders said in a press release. “Social Security insurance belongs to taxpayers, not Musk — no matter how rich he is.”
AFSCME Retiree Council Chair, Jeff Birttnen, also blasted the billionaire.
"Retirees aren’t backing down. This lawsuit is our stand against Elon Musk and DOGE's unlawful data grab — protecting the Social Security, pensions, and Medicare we’ve earned through years of hard work,” Birttnen said. “We won’t let a billionaire compromise our future.”
The SSA maintains the financial, employment and medical data and addresses of millions of Americans. DOGE gained access to this data last week from an acting official whom the administration installed to lead the agency—and in doing so, the lawsuit alleges, further broke the law that governs the making of such “vacancy” appointments.
That official, Leland Dudek, a mid-level career SSA employee, was under investigation when Trump selected him as the agency’s acting commissioner.
So far at the SSA, DOGE has eliminated 41 jobs and closed at least 10 local offices, according to the nonprofit news outlet ProPublica. Social Security recipients rely on in-person service in all 50 states, as ProPublica notes. The closures could reduce access to Social Security benefits for many people and families who rely on them to make ends meet.
AFSCME’s Get Organized campaign seeks to stop anti-worker extremists and their billionaire friends from destroying the public services we provide. We won’t stand on the sidelines as they try to roll back laws that protect our health and safety at work, our job security and even our freedom to join our union.