President Trump’s new executive order ends collective bargaining for wide swaths of federal employees, as part of his broader campaign to reshape the government’s workforce. Unions are vowing to sue.
President Trump has signed an executive order ending collective bargaining for wide swaths of federal employees, as part of his broader campaign to reshape the U.S. government’s workforce. The largest federal employee union says the order affects over 1 million workers.
In a fact sheet, the White House says the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) gives him the authority to halt collective bargaining at agencies with national security missions.
This provision has traditionally applied to certain employees at agencies such as the CIA, the FBI or the National Security Agency.
But Trump’s order is more far-reaching, and includes employees whose jobs touch on national defense, border security, foreign relations, energy security, pandemic preparedness, the economy, public safety and cybersecurity.
It notably excludes law enforcement. « Police and firefighters will continue to collectively bargain », the White House fact sheet states.
Trump had previously issued executive actions eroding employee rights under union contracts.
