Updated March 27 at 11:19 p.m. ET
On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at banning collective bargaining for approximately two-thirds of the federal workforce, employing a seldom-used provision of federal labor law associated with national security concerns.
A fact sheet accompanying the policy announcement states that Trump invoked a rarely utilized section of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, which permits the president to exclude certain agencies and their subdivisions from collective bargaining rules if those rules cannot be implemented in a way that aligns with national security demands.
Initially contemplating this action in early 2020, Trump granted authority to then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper to exempt the Pentagon from federal labor law. However, after facing bipartisan resistance in Congress, Esper chose not to proceed with this authority.
According to the White House, Trump’s directive effectively terminates collective bargaining with unions at the Departments of Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, Justice, and Energy, along with sections of the Departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Interior, and Agriculture.
Furthermore, agencies such as the International Trade Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Agency for International Development, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, National Science Foundation, International Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, and General Services Administration are also exempt from federal labor law, including the chief information officer offices across the government.
Altogether, the agencies affected by Trump’s order represent 67% of the federal workforce and 75% of federal employees currently represented by unions.
In response, Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees— the largest federal employee union— vowed to contest the president’s directive, which he indicated was a retaliation against unions striving to safeguard employee rights amid widespread government layoffs. Kelley announced that his union would pursue “legal action” to obstruct the implementation of this order.
“President Trump’s latest executive order is an appalling and vindictive assault on the rights of hundreds of thousands of dedicated American civil servants— approximately one-third of whom are veterans— simply because they belong to a union that challenges his harmful policies,” Kelley stated. “This administration’s bullying tactics pose a distinct threat not only to federal employees and their unions but to every American who cherishes democracy and the rights to free speech and association. Trump’s intimidation of unions and working-class Americans is unmistakable: comply or face consequences.”
Guidance from acting Office of Personnel Management Director Charles Ezell instructed the listed agencies that they are “no longer bound by the collective bargaining requirements” specified in Title 5 of the U.S. Code, albeit they should consult with their general counsel for implementation advice. Agencies have been advised to stop “participating” in any ongoing grievance proceedings before independent arbitrators.
Don Kettl, dean emeritus and a former professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, remarked that the national security exemption of the Civil Service Reform Act does not extend sufficiently to encompass the agencies referenced by the Trump administration.
“The president has the authority to alter the conditions under which union representation takes place and to negotiate new contracts upon the expiration of existing ones,” he noted. “However, the president cannot simply eliminate established agreements.”
While the White House’s fact sheet refers to the national security exception within the 1978 law, it frequently criticizes the law itself and accuses unions of “declaring war” on the president’s initiatives, citing various grievances and legal actions taken by unions aimed at obstructing the administration’s efforts to purge and politicize the federal workforce.
“The exemption seems to imply that the president’s national security responsibilities take precedence over any current union agreements, thereby allowing the president to disregard those agreements,” Kettl explained. “Additionally, the fact sheet contends that the Civil Service Reform Act allows unions to impede agency management. This is a two-pronged attack, aimed at both the CSRA in general and at unions specifically.”
