Governor Hochul: “Here's my message to any public sector worker who suddenly finds himself out of a job: New York does want you, New York needs you; come work in the greatest state in the nation. We won't denigrate you, we will treat you with dignity and respect that you deserve because in New York, we know it's not the demagogues and the technocrats who make America great, it's public servants.”

Hochul: “The current regime in Washington may not recognize your talents, but I can assure you, New York State does. We don't vilify public servants, we value you. We cherish your contributions and we do want to welcome you to the New York family.”

Earlier on Mar 2nd, Governor Hochul convened a roundtable discussion with a group of public sector workers impacted by federal layoffs driven by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Following the roundtable, the Governor announced an expansion of her “You’re Hired” initiative to recruit talented public sector workers into New York State service. The expanded initiative includes the launch of digital billboards in Washington, D.C.’s Union Station and New York’s Moynihan Station, as well as a new brochure for impacted workers and a new series of upcoming info sessions hosted by the New York State Department of Labor.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good morning. I just wrapped up a roundtable with former federal workers who are hastily dismissed from their jobs by the so-called, “Department of Government Efficiency.” Before I get started, I want to acknowledge two commissioners who participated in that with me. Our commissioner, the Department of Labor, Roberta Reardon, which oversees the unemployment program – which was a big concern to these individuals, but also Tim Hogues is our Commissioner of Civil Service, as we're working hard to get people positions again. Also joined by Luke Graziani, who's going to talk about his experience a little bit later about what happened to him – being removed from his position at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

We had to keep this meeting closed press to protect the identity of these individuals. Because these are fellow citizens who are afraid of retribution from a sitting United States President and his cronies in Washington. Let that sink in. People who are fearful of retribution from the leader of our nation.

Now I will just give you some of the reflections we just wrapped up, but the emotions are raw. This was so wildly unexpected. Some received notification on Valentine's Day. They love their jobs. Some of them were on probation. Some literally days away from having permanent status.

They found the whole experience degrading, dehumanizing, there's anger – but immediately their thoughts turned to the impact on their families. Children who need their parents to bring home a paycheck. Losing health insurance. Some individuals spoke about their own physical needs. One individual had a compromised immune system, needs expensive treatment every month. His wife also needs to go through therapy for a recent surgery. And how are they going to pay those bills without health insurance?

Talk about the bills piling up on the table already – is a time of high anxiety for these individuals, these public servants who did nothing other than to say, and many of them left the private sector because they feel so strongly about serving others. That's what public service is all about.

It also has an impact on the public. These are individuals, whether it was people at the IRS who were investigating corporate tax scams that were defrauding money from taxpayers overall. These are people at the Consumer Protection Bureau, CFPB. What were they doing? They're protecting consumers from scams and companies that were trying to harm individuals' credit scores. The list goes on.

The reality is, this has caused undue harm. Not just to these individuals and their families and the shock of what they're going through. And this is just a snapshot. This handful of individuals, and it's going on all over New York. It's going on all over America, and particularly hard hit Washington.

I want them to know that we'll work with them. They are New Yorkers. They're part of our families. And we offered some suggestions of what we can do.

Again, back to Luke. Luke lives in Queens. He's served our country for 20 years, including four tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Willing to put his life on the line for all of us. He's working at the Bronx VA's office, before he was deemed government waste in this reckless, ongoing employee purge. To us, he's an American hero. He fought for this country and now is working in an agency that serves sick and needy and injured veterans. And terminated by Elon Musk and his clueless cadre of career killers.

These are patriots – they call themselves – putting America first. Give me a break. They know nothing about the functions of government. They don't know who it serves, and they don't care about the tireless public servants who keep it all running. They protect our skies, keep planes from coming down. They maintain our national parks, our military facilities. They ensure our food and medications are safe. And they predict the path of deadly storms, something we know a great deal about here in the State of New York, having come through two hurricanes, unprecedented tornadoes, two thousand year flooding events, horrific blizzards and many other challenges that we have now. We need to know with certainty and predictability what's happening.

And also, these people are the ones searching for medical cures that could save your family member's life. None of this seems to matter to Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Not at all. For them it's just fodder for this cheap, second-rate reality show. You're fired. It's fun for them to say that.

They fail to recognize that they're affecting people's real lives and their livelihoods. These are essential jobs requiring many years of specialized experience, done by real people, as I said, with bills to pay and families to support. They should be commended for their service, not mocked by the President and handed a pink slip.

Now, here's the deal. The current regime in Washington may not recognize your talents, but I can assure you, New York State does. We don't vilify public servants, we value you. We cherish your contributions and we do want to welcome you to the New York family. So we just launched a campaign to recruit federal workers, ousted by the Trump-Musk Administration.

Got, what I think, is a rather clever design. Really detailed information on how to get out of the situation they're in, talking about specific programs, our veterans temporary hiring program. How we have a program that will temporarily remove the civil service exams so we can get people in sooner. The Empire Fellows program.

Here's real information on how to get yourself a job here in the State of New York. It's important. So, our message is simple: “While DOGE says, ‘You're fired.’ We say, ‘You're hired.’” And on Mar 3rd, we're expanding that campaign beginning this morning. Anyone traveling through Union Station in our nation's capital or Moynihan Station right here in New York, you'll see giant digital billboards that read, “New York wants you for a career in public service.”

And this Thursday, the Department of Labor is going to host a series of free virtual webinars for displaced federal workers and those who expect to be let go in the future. This is just the first wave, I hope you realize that. This was just the first, it's going to continue. And I want everyone to have this brochure, and understand how to apply and let you know this good news.

In the State of New York, we have 7,000 public sector job openings. We're looking for qualified, experienced candidates across a wide variety of fields. I need technologists, I need engineers, I need attorneys, health care workers, educators, public policy experts and so many more. This recruitment effort is part of our ongoing effort to rebuild the public workforce after it's been decimated, particularly during COVID.

We've had to hire thousands more and lift barriers to entry to government work because this work is essential to everyday New Yorkers who may not realize, but there are people out there working for you every single day with heart and passion.

Like I said, we've waived certain test requirements, launched 10 new job centers, and expanded opportunities for veterans and people with disabilities. We've also expanded paid parental leave to 12 weeks for the entire state workforce. We reformed Tier 6, ensuring state workers get retirement benefits they deserve. That's how you take care of and value your public sector workforce, because taking care of them means they're taking care of us.

So here's my message to any public sector worker who suddenly finds himself out of a job: New York does want you, New York needs you; come work in the greatest state in the nation. We won't denigrate you, we will treat you with dignity and respect that you deserve because in New York, we know it's not the demagogues and the technocrats who make America great, it's public servants — like Luke and all the people I just met and countless who came before them — who dedicate their lives to serving others.