Update: On September 25, the Federal Bureau of Prisons announced it was terminating its collective bargaining agreement with the Council of Prison Locals (CPL-33), citing the union becoming “an obstacle to progress instead of a partner in it.” The termination of the contract would impact more than 30,000 prison workers. CPL-33 is an affiliate of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which has sued the Trump administration for several executive orders that impact the federal workforce.
Timeline
August 28 – President Trump issued an Executive Order extending his original March EO to include more agencies. This EO would also exclude workers at agencies including NASA, NOAA, the National Weather Service, and more from their rights to join a union and lines up the potential elimination of even more collective bargaining agreements.
August 6 – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it would terminate most of its union contracts with federal employees of the VA. VA officials cited that this action was being taken because the employee unions have “repeatedly opposed significant, bipartisan VA reforms and rewarded bad employees for misconduct.” This announcement terminates union rights and current collective bargaining agreements for the majority of VA staff, about 370,000 employees, represented by unions including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), the National Federation of Federal Employees, National Nurses United and the Service Employees International Union.
August 8 – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also canceled its union contracts, citing a goal to “prevent irreparable harm to national security.” This is a more explicit reference to President Trump’s original March executive order, despite the fact that the EPA’s national security responsibilities are just one part of the agency’s overall mission. This announcement terminates union rights and current collective bargaining agreements for thousands of EPA employees, represented by unions including AFGE, NAGE, the Engineers and Scientists of California, and the National Association of Independent Labor.
These two actions specifically violate the federal government’s arguments to judges in related litigation that agencies would not terminate current union contracts until the conclusion of the litigation.
July 25, 2025 – A federal appeals court lifted the June preliminary injunction, allowing agencies to proceed with enforcing Trump’s executive order. The order said that any “harm to collective bargaining rights” experienced by federal employees would be “mitigated” because the court’s order also directs agencies not to terminate CBAs until the litigation has concluded, or because any terminated CBAs could be reinstated if the plaintiffs win their case to overturn Trump’s EO.
June 24, 2025 – A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking agencies from enforcing President Trump’s executive order that ended collective bargaining rights for thousands of federal workers.
May 16, 2025 – A federal appeals court lifted the block on President Trump’s executive order that removed collective bargaining rights for thousands of federal workers.
April 25, 2025 – A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking President Trump’s executive order eliminating collective bargaining rights for thousands of federal workers.
April 3, 2025 – The American Federation of Government Employees and other unions filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration.
On March 27, President Trump issued an executive order that excludes agencies with “national security missions” from the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. The action removes collective bargaining rights for workers at more than 30 federal agencies that involve the issues of national defense, border security, foreign relations, energy security, pandemic preparedness, cybersecurity, economic defense, and public safety. Notably, the executive order does not impact law enforcement.
Under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, federal unions can bargain over a limited set of conditions of employment. The Trump administration cites having to negotiate with unions over matters of performance and changes in working conditions as threats to national security and justification to removing collective bargaining rights of federal workers. However, collective bargaining provides pathways to resolve conflicts, improve retention, and boost workplace morale.
The executive order is a direct response to the federal unions that are challenging the Trump administration’s actions. Under President Trump’s second term, his administration has issued numerous attacks on the federal workforce, many of which courts have found to be illegal. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents federal workers, is preparing to take legal action against the Trump administration over the executive order.
Impact: The executive order would strip more than a million federal workers of their collective bargaining rights. These workers would no longer have the right to organize with their coworkers and improve their working conditions so they can efficiently provide services the public relies on.