The lawsuit states collective bargaining agreements with federal employees are a “serious impediment to effective agency operations and national security."
March 28, 2025 5:27 pm
5 min read
The Trump administration is looking to end collective bargaining rights for nearly half the federal workforce — a move federal employee unions say is retaliation for their lawsuits challenging plans to downsize agencies.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday seeking to end collective bargaining for more than a dozen agencies, on the grounds that their work impacts national security.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) estimates the executive order affects more than a million federal employees — nearly half the federal workforce.
AFGE National President Everett Kelley called the executive order “plainly retaliatory” at a press conference Friday.
“The executive order says plainly that they are taking this action because AFGE is standing up for our members. But I want to assure everybody that AFGE will always stand up for its members,” Kelley said.
Federal employee unions are leading many lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce.
Federal judges in two AFGE-led lawsuits have ordered agencies to reinstate 25,000 fired probationary employees, after they determined OPM unlawfully directed agency heads to conduct the firings.
Kelley said barring this many federal employees from unions “will...
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