THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2025 65 AFSA TERM REPORT Prior to the change in administration, AFSA and the various foreign affairs agencies extended their collective bargaining agreements to ensure, among other things, the continuation of government-provided office space and 100 percent official time for AFSA’s fulltime president, vice presidents, and State representative dedicated to specialist issues. (At press time, the government had ended all union rights for AFSA at the Department of State and USAID, pending the outcome of AFSA’s lawsuits.) As of press time, AFSA is a plaintiff in three lawsuits against the administration: two cases challenge the dismantling of USAID and USAGM and a third case challenges the executive order stripping Foreign Service members of their right to have a union. AFSA has also retained private counsel to represent USAID employees who have received reduction-in-force notices in a class action Merit Systems Protection Board appeal. The AFSA Office of the General Counsel is typically contacted more than 2,000 times per year for assistance in some form. The most common questions that come in are related to finances, security-related matters, career counseling, and assignments. Of the number of that become longer-term cases (usually about a third of those contacts), the breakdown consistently follows the chart above. Membership In coordination with each agency, we are fortunate to welcome new Foreign Service orientation classes to AFSA headquarters for lunch and the chance to hear how AFSA supports them throughout their careers and into retirement. This historically adds up to approximately 20 luncheons a year hosting upward of 1,000 new colleagues. For some agencies, this introduction is done virtually. Although a hiring freeze was put in place in January 2025, we were able to host a USAID class and two State classes of new hires. These recruitment events are made even more successful by our cadre of table hosts who volunteer their time to meet new members of the Foreign Service and share their experience. AFSA membership has remained consistent at just over 17,000 members, climbing to more than 18,000 members in early 2025. More than 80 percent of activeduty members choose to join AFSA. Our retiree membership has steadily increased and continues to be the second-largest membership constituency. Our 2024 centennial year saw some new member events, including sending “Party in a Box” packages to participating posts to recognize the Foreign Service centennial on May 24, 2024. We also hosted a member appreciation event at the rooftop of the Watergate Hotel for members in the D.C. area. Each May, we commemorate Foreign Service Day with a series of activities. This includes a rolling moment of silence at embassies and consulates around the world in coordination with our memorial plaque ceremony at the State Department as part of the official Foreign Service Day activities. We also take the opportunity to invite members to an open house at AFSA HQ to meet with staff, connect with colleagues, enjoy refreshments, and get free professional headshots taken. In addition to other in-person member events such as our quarterly happy hours and annual Foreign Service Night at Nationals Park, we continue to offer a robust set of webinars on a range of topics. We hosted more than 20 webinars during this period on topics such as managing retirement benefits, financial and retirement planning, preparing for Open Season, and AFSA’s congressional advocacy. We also host virtual town halls and speaker series featuring authors or emerging topics in our Inside Diplomacy series. We’ve had more than 9,000 attendees for our virtual programs during the 20232025 Governing Board term. The membership portion of the AFSA website was overhauled, resulting in upgraded functionality and improved usability. Members can update their profiles, membership status, and contact information by logging into their account at https://afsa.org.
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