Union representatives for government employees are scrambling to understand the possible fate of several federal offices in Northeast Pennsylvania that appeared on lists slated for sale or lease termination.
“We’re trying to get some answers,” said Phil Glover, national vice president for Pennsylvania’s district of the American Federation of Government Employees.
Federal field offices in the region started appearing on the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) “Wall of Receipts” during the past week under “Real Estate Terminations,” while two Social Security offices in Luzerne County appeared on a list of “non-core assets” from the General Services Administration (GSA).
DOGE has listed three offices in Northeast and Northcentral Pennsylvania as having their leases terminated: the Railroad Retirement Board in Dickson City, the U.S. Geological Survey office in Williamsport, and a Mining Health and Safety Administration office in Frackville.
As for neighboring regions, in State College, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Employment Standards Administration are marked for closure on DOGE’s website. In Altoona, meanwhile, DOGE lists the Internal Revenue Service’s office.
Then, the Social Security Administration buildings in Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton popped up on a list of “non-core assets” that could be considered for sale by GSA, according to Glover and other media reports.
In a statement, GSA spokesperson Leonard Buchanan said the goal of posting the list on Wednesday was “to align with the President’s direction to bring federal employees back to high performing office spaces throughout the country,” and “drive maximum value for the federal real estate footprint.”
“To be clear, just because an asset is on the list doesn’t mean it’s immediately for sale,” the statement reads. “Since publishing the initial list on March 4, 2025, we have received an overwhelming amount of interest.”
The list of “non-core assets” was taken down from GSA’s website by Thursday. Buchanan said GSA will republish the list “in the near future.”
“GSA will continuously review and update the list of non-core assets,” he said.
Buchanan would not confirm what had appeared on the list before it was taken down.
The government offices in Dickson City, Williamsport and Frackville remained listed on DOGE’s website on Tuesday.
Elizabeth Mocek, Acting Director of the Railroad Retirement Board office in Dickson City, confirmed via email that the office will be closing.
"The General Services Administration (GSA) has informed the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) that they have terminated the lease in Scranton," she said. "The RRB is actively working with GSA to identify a resolution to maintain a public-facing office presence for the local railroad community."
Mocek said RRB offices provide walk-in and telephone services to railroad workers, retirees, and dependent family members to assist them in accessing retirement, unemployment, Medicare and other benefits.
The Geological Survey had not returned a request for comment. The Mine Health Safety Administration referred WVIA News back to GSA, which did not comment on the Frackville office.
According to the DOGE website, the closure of the RRB office will save the federal government $32,369.
Terminating the Williamsport Geological Survey office's lease will save $67,391, and the Frackville Mine Health Safety Administration lease termination will save $132,547, according to DOGE's posted numbers.
Glover said his agency has received no communication from GSA since the list was pulled, but confirmed he saw the Social Security Administration offices in Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton listed.
'What message does that send?'
Djuwanna Washington, first vice president of Wilkes-Barre’s local AFGE chapter, represents employees at the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton social security offices. She said the GSA list and lack of communication is causing confusion for employees who expect to return to the office after years of remote work.
“If the employees are now being required to come into the office and the offices are being sold, what message does that send to the employees?,” she said.
Washington said while AFGE is concerned about the employees and their families, their main concern is the potential impact on the public. She said the Wilkes-Barre Data Operations Center in Plains Twp. consistently ranks first or second in the nation for productivity.
“The very public that we serve are the ones that are being hurt by all of these decisions,” Washington said. “We as employees, we can bounce back, but the American public is what matters most.”
If an office were to close, Washington said the public could see significant service delays.
“There could be … delays with their payments, and people rely on those checks to survive. Replacement social security cards … you may not be able to get them in a timely manner,” she said. “Any benefit that we service, if you’re looking to start those benefits … you wouldn’t have the staff available to take the necessary calls.”
Washington said around 1,200 people work for the Wilkes-Barre Data Operations Center. The Social Security Administration has announced plans to reduce its national workforce by 7,000.
“The president has made a promise to protect Social Security,” Washington said. “Getting rid of approximately 7,000 employees will break that promise.”
