President Donald Trump signed a new executive order on Thursday that adds more federal agencies to the list of departments where collective bargaining rights are being suspended.
Why It Matters
This new step builds on an earlier order from March 27. Under the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, presidents can stop collective bargaining if they decide it is necessary for national security.
If these changes go into effect, many federal workers covered by unions would lose important protections. These include the right to neutral arbitration in workplace disputes and official time for union representatives to negotiate or handle casework.
What To Know
The order now applies to several agencies, including:
- NASA
- The U.S. Agency for Global Media
- The National Weather Service and the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service within NOAA
- The Bureau of Reclamation’s hydropower program
- The Patent and Trademark Office’s commissioner of patents office
The White House released a statement saying, “President Trump is taking action to ensure that agencies vital to national security can execute their missions without delay and protect the American people. The President needs a responsive and accountable civil service to protect our national security.”
Union leaders strongly opposed the move. Everett Kelley, National President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), said the timing—just after Trump’s Labor Day proclamation—“should show American workers what he really thinks about them.”
Kelley added in an email to Newsweek: “This latest executive order is another clear example of retaliation against federal employee union members who have bravely stood up against his anti-worker, anti-American plan to dismantle the federal government. Several agencies including NASA and the National Weather Service have already been hollowed out by reckless DOGE cuts, so for the administration to further disenfranchise the remaining workers in the name of ‘efficiency’ is immoral and abhorrent. AFGE is preparing an immediate response and will continue to fight relentlessly to protect the rights of our members, federal employees and their union.”
Liz Shuler, President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), also criticized the decision: “Issuing these executive orders just days before the holiday that honors everything working people have fought and died for—including our right to come together with our co-workers in a union and bargain for what we deserve—shows us that this administration’s callous disregard for workers’ rights knows no bounds.”
Agencies Already Impacted
This action comes after a similar step at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Last week, the VA confirmed it had removed collective bargaining rights for most of its workforce, cutting the number of union-eligible employees from about 375,000 to roughly 7,000. The administration said the money once spent on union activities would instead go toward veteran care.
Union officials and veterans’ advocates warned this change could reduce the quality of services available to veterans.
Union contracts at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture have also recently been canceled.
