President Donald Trump Strips Unionize Federal Workers of Collective Bargaining Rights

Legislative and Political
Issue 1, 2025

On March 27, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order, “Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Program,” that took away the collective bargaining rights from hundreds of thousands of federal workers. While claiming that it was done under the guise of national security, the Executive Order covers almost the entire federal workforce, including workers for the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Energy, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Justice and Commerce. 

The right to form labor unions and bargain collectively is the most basic right of working people. For over sixty years, through Republican and Democratic Administrations alike, the federal government has recognized that right, entering into countless collective bargaining agreements with hundreds of different unions, representing millions of public servants. 

“President Trump’s order purporting to end collective bargaining rights for over one million federal employees will be challenged in the courts, and BAC trusts that justice will be done,” said President Driscoll in a statement released after the Executive Order was signed. “In the meantime, we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who got to work each day to ensure that our government works for us. The right to join a union and bargain collectively is one shared by all workers – regardless of their employer – and BAC will fight alongside the rest of the labor movement to ensure that every working American has that right.” 

Editor’s Note: On April 25, Judge Paul L. Freedman of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing the Executive Order. A full order is expected to be issued in the coming days.