BAC Condemns President Trump’s Attack on Collective Bargaining in the Federal Government

“Employee-management relations within the Federal service should be improved by providing employees an opportunity for greater participation in the formulation and implementation of policies and procedures affecting the conditions of their employment. …  Employees of the Federal Government shall have, and shall be protected in the exercise of, the right, freely and without feel of penalty or reprisal, to form, join and assist any employee organization.” - President John F. Kennedy, 1962

“Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order using authority granted by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) to end collective bargaining with Federal unions[.]” -The White House, March 27, 2025

[Washington, DC] - The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers issued the following statement following President Trump's Executive Order attacking federal government workers' collective bargaining rights:

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. 

Unionized federal employees have helped put Americans on the moon, cared for victims of natural disasters, and kept vital public services running through some of the darkest period in our nation’s history. At no time has their right to bargain over the conditions of their employment interfered with their mission. In fact, collective bargaining has served to resolve conflicts in a rapid and systemic manner – reducing litigation, improving federal retention, and boosting morale. In short, the professionalism and productivity of our government is due in no small part to the benefits of collective bargaining. 

“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 BAC President Timothy Driscoll. 

“In the meantime, we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who go to work each day to ensure that our government works for us,” President Driscoll continued. “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.”