By Charlie Plybon
On Thursday, Feb. 27th, along with hundreds of other NOAA employees, my partner Cristen Don lost her job.
She was fired without cause and received the standard DOGE termination email and was given an hour to clear her office and leave. We are devastated. Cristen has worked her entire life to be in such a position to serve Americans. From the thousands of dollars in college debt we pay to the hundreds of unpaid and underpaid hours because she loves the work, it is civil servants such as her and the thousands of others losing their jobs right now that make America great. They don’t do this work for money, they do it for people and our country.
Cristen and every other NOAA employee I know that has lost their job are anything but government waste. On the contrary, they save Americans millions if not billions of dollars a year. Private sector jobs of Cristen’s caliber pay big bucks, but she and hundreds of other federal employees chose a path for public service and a lower paycheck. Profit doesn’t make America great, things like our freedoms, security, a healthy environment with clean water to drink and safe air to breath make America great – and they come at a bargain from federal programs of agencies like NOAA. Government waste is $38 Billion dollars of contracts with a billionaire profiteer, not the $60,000 per year employee that works for a natural resource agency.
It’s important individuals understand that these mass firings are illegal, they break constitutional rights that threaten all Americans security and freedom. They are happening without cause and with no understanding of the impact. It’s like a child pulling the screws out of an airplane to see if they can make it fly higher. The dismantling we’re seeing will take decades to repair, and Americans will be less safe and secure in the process.
The photo included here is from the day Cristen got her job with NOAA.
This was originally posted by Charlie Plybon on Feb. 27, 2025.