by Amber Roldan, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]

June 11, 2025

This story was updated at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. 

Every Tuesday afternoon since mid-February, the busy intersection outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention becomes loud and crowded as allies show their support for the center and its remaining employees.

The rallies emerged after the first round of mass layoffs under the Trump administration and its campaign to shrink the size of the federal government, which has led to a large number of fired employees, funding cuts and the elimination of CDC programs.

Every week, retired CDC employees and people who have lost their jobs take to the streets to express their disappointment and share their collective fear for the future of the CDC. This week, about 20 current CDC workers used their paid time-off to join them. 

By walking out of their offices, the group was able to share a moment of solidarity with the crowd. A few of these employees stepped up to the megaphone, saying they were scared to speak out. Most of these employees remained masked. 

Tony Fiore, one of the many CDC alums in attendance this week, has been at almost every Tuesday rally. Fiore is part of a group of former CDC staffers who help organize the weekly rallies to show their support of their friends still working at the center.

“We thought we’d come out here every Tuesday and show some support, show some love to them, because they’re just getting hammered from all sides,” Fiore said. “They’re getting letters every week telling them they’re worthless government employees.”

Tuesday’s rally came only a day after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed each existing member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. This committee advises the CDC on who should receive vaccinations and when. His executive removal came with a pledge to replace the committee with new members of his choosing.

Numerous signs, including one from Fiore, expressed dismay over this decision.

Supporters gathered around three corners of the busy intersection outside the center holding signs high as cars, including some with CDC employees on board, passed. The signs elicited honks, smiles and thumbs up from many drivers.

Recently fired former CDC employee Rosemarie Kobau attended Tuesday’s rally with a sign pleading for the restoration of the CDC’s epilepsy program. After 25 years as a part of the program and 13 years as its team lead, Kobau did not expect to be spending her Tuesdays unemployed and begging for the continuation of epilepsy programming.

Kobau’s team previously worked to promote epilepsy prevention through prenatal care, disorder management and innovative intervention.

“We were supporting many programs and communities across the country and in partnership with large national organizations like the Epilepsy Foundation and the American Epilepsy Society,” Kobau said. “Now all of that work has been stopped.”

As the rally cranked up Tuesday, CDC supporters gathered in a tight clump outside of a nearby CVS where event organizers set up a stepstool and megaphone. Former and current CDC staffers recited their oath of office and then extended an open invitation for anyone to speak. 

This invitation attracted both planned and impromptu speakers.

Kathleen Collomb, a retired CDC employee from the Office on Smoking and Health, said she did not plan on speaking. However, after listening to the testimonies of other speakers she felt moved to voice her concerns.

From behind the megaphone Collomb told the crowd that when asked at a Senate hearing Kennedy did not know that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in America. The Office on Smoking and Health was one of the many eliminated CDC programs.

“What did this man and DOGE do? They RIFed them and they vaporized the Office on Smoking and Health,” Collomb said, referring to a reduction in force. 

The crowd responded with a cacophony of “boos.”

Before leaving the megaphone, Collomb asked a final question: “How in heaven’s name does that Make America Healthy Again?”

State Rep. Saira Draper, an Atlanta Democrat, joined a long list of passionate voices at Tuesday’s rally. Her message was delivered through rain as a storm moved in. Attendees opened umbrellas and put on ponchos as Draper spoke about her gratitude and support for CDC employees. She also criticized Gov. Brian Kemp for staying silent as hundreds of jobs continue to be lost in Atlanta.

“If there is something I have learned from my time at the Georgia Capitol it is that there is no change without demand,” Draper said to the crowd. “I know sometimes it can seem like you are yelling into the void. I know that, but let me assure you you are not. We are listening and we stand with you.” 

Correction: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized an exchange between Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a senator during a recent hearing. Kennedy was told at that hearing that the leading cause of preventable death in America is smoking.  

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.