Working People Respond to Executive Order Attacking Federal Worker Collective Bargaining Rights
The Trump administration issued a new executive order stripping collective bargaining and union rights from workers across the federal government. Advocates for working people condemned the move.
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement:
Straight out of Project 2025, this executive order is the very definition of union-busting. It strips the fundamental right to unionize and collectively bargain from workers across the federal government at more than 30 agencies. The workers who make sure our food is safe to eat, care for our veterans, protect us from public health emergencies and much more will no longer have a voice on the job or the ability to organize with their coworkers for better conditions at work so they can efficiently provide the services the public relies upon. It’s clear that this order is punishment for unions who are leading the fight against the administration’s illegal actions in court—and a blatant attempt to silence us. Â
To every single American who cares about the fundamental freedom of all workers, now is the time to be even louder. The labor movement is not about to let Trump and an unelected billionaire destroy what we’ve fought for generations to build. We will fight this outrageous attack on our members with every fiber of our collective being.
AFGE National President Everett Kelley:
President Trump’s latest executive order is a disgraceful and retaliatory attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of patriotic American civil servants—nearly one-third of whom are veterans—simply because they are members of a union that stands up to his harmful policies.
This administration’s bullying tactics represent a clear threat not just to federal employees and their unions, but to every American who values democracy and the freedoms of speech and association. Trump’s threat to unions and working people across America is clear: fall in line or else.
These threats will not work. Americans will not be intimidated or silenced. AFGE isn’t going anywhere. Our members have bravely served this nation, often putting themselves in harm’s way, and they deserve far better than this blatant attempt at political punishment.
AFGE is preparing immediate legal action and will fight relentlessly to protect our rights, our members, and all working Americans from these unprecedented attacks.
Take Action with AFGE: Call Your Member of Congress
AFSCME President Lee Saunders:
President Trump’s attempt to unlawfully eliminate the right to collectively bargain for hundreds of thousands of federal workers is blatant retribution. Federal workers—including thousands of AFSCME members—are the lifeblood of their communities. They protect our clean drinking water and food supply, care for veterans, support American farmers, administer Medicaid and Social Security and so much more. This attack is meant to silence their voices, so Elon Musk and his minions can shred the services that working people depend on the federal government to do.
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The billionaires running this administration have proven that they are willing to bulldoze anything that stands in their way to enact their anti-worker, extremist agenda—even if it harms our communities. In just two months, they have completed one-third of the 900-page Project 2025 agenda, a plan that robs working people of their power to benefit the ultra-wealthy. AFSCME’s 1.4 million members are prepared to fight to protect federal workers’ voice on the job.
Actors’ Equity Association Executive Director Al Vincent Jr.:
Donald Trump has now taken direct aim at working people by attacking the collective bargaining rights of our federal workforce in what’s being called the largest union-busting act of our lifetime, if not in history.
The workers targeted by this executive order are not only the indispensable pulse that keeps our country running, they are our friends, neighbors and colleagues. They’ve been on the front line of protecting our democracy, and their lawsuits against this administration have placed them in the crosshairs of political retribution.
This attack on workers is at its heart an escalation of the president’s attacks on free speech. These attacks aren’t going to stop federal workers, just as they aren’t going to stop Equity members or any other Americans who believe in the democratic values that our country—and our unions—are founded on. Equity joins workers across the labor movement in solidarity against this abuse of power, and we will continue to stand together to protect the rights of workers.
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten:
This illegal executive order, ripped from the pages of Project 2025, is blatant retaliation for federal workers standing up to Elon Musk’s chaos and harm on behalf of all Americans.
The text of the order is plain: This has nothing to do with security and everything to do with silencing those who disagree with the government. After workers sued and spoke out about the unlawful evisceration of entire agencies, the Trump administration responded by trying to eliminate their collective bargaining rights. Both the courts and the public have agreed with our calls for justice.Â
These are the workers, a third of them veterans, who keep the country running. They include educators who teach the children of deployed service members at some of the best schools in the world, run by the Department of Defense. They include nurses in VA hospitals who stand up for patients who save people’s lives. And they include workers who safeguard the food supply and preserve Medicaid and Medicare.
The administration is trying to send a message that unless you please the president, unions will not be tolerated. But the labor movement’s job is to act on behalf of the people: those we serve and those we represent. We’re both a fundamental check and balance and a canary in the coal mine. Our job is to fight for a dignified life for working people. When a president does that, we applaud, and when a president harms Americans, we resist.
And that’s what the AFT’s 1.8 million members will continue to do: fight in the streets, in the courts and in Congress, to uphold both the law and the right of all workers to advocate for their collective interests and America’s future.
American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) President Ned Hanlon:
It has been a challenging week for labor, marked by the dismantling of FMCS, the troubling nomination of Crystal Carey as NLRB General Counsel, and now another transparently egregious attempt to undermine union rights.
The performing arts have always been a place for collaboration, creativity, and shared purpose, and at the heart of this is the fundamental right of workers to come together and advocate for fair treatment and mutual respect. Now, the collective bargaining rights of federal workers are under threat by the current administration’s alarming efforts to eliminate their fundamental right to unionize and improve working conditions, which are essential for both workers and the critical services they provide to all Americans.
This is not just an attack on federal employees but on the broader labor movement and the principles of equity and democracy that we hold dear. For those of us in the performing arts, where unionized workforces provide stability in an otherwise unstable industry, we fully grasp what’s at stake. Silencing federal workers is just another step toward silencing all workers. Â
AGMA stands in total solidarity with all unionized federal workers facing these challenges. We join our sibling unions in doing everything in our power to ensure that the voices of working people, from the federal government to the arts, remain heard, protected, united, and informed.
American Postal Workers Union (APWU) President Mark Dimondstein:
Workers and their unions are under attack with a new executive order issued by President Trump stripping the union rights of nearly a million federal workers. Trump’s executive order abolishes existing union contracts, eliminates collective bargaining rights, orders agencies to stop processing grievances, and prohibits payroll union dues collection.
Wrapped in the bogus guise of “national security concerns,” this is the most serious attack on unionized workers in this country in at least a generation.
The President of the United States claimed during the recent election to be a friend of working people. No “friend” of working people would take action to destroy, rather than uplift, unions and workers’ rights.
This executive order is part of an ongoing assault on all workers, and our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association. Make no mistake, postal workers will not be spared from this Administration and their billionaire benefactors’ war on workers.
These dictatorial actions, with no respect for the law, come right out of [Adolf] Hitler and the Nazi party’s playbook. Shortly after coming to power in 1933, the Nazis launched an assault on the independent trade union movement, dissolving unions, seizing union funds, and beating, imprisoning, and murdering union leaders.
Working people and our unions must face the seriousness of these attacks with our weapons of solidarity and action. President Trump has made his intentions clear—he is out to destroy the labor movement. Now is the time for every worker to stand up and fight back!
Our sisters and brothers at AFGE, the largest federal union, are urging every worker to take action today. Call your members of Congress at 817-904-8624 and urge them to stop this attack on working people. Digital actions are available at mobilize.us/afge
Stay tuned for more actions and demonstrations to come.
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) International President Sara Nelson:
This is an illegal, retaliatory union busting attack on working people, pure and simple. Flight Attendants know our safety and security at work and at home rely on the dedicated federal workers targeted by this action, many of whom are our veterans. This order is designed to punish people who are standing up to this administration’s illegal funding cuts and firings, and to intimidate anyone who might stand up to their illegal actions in the future.
Working people from all walks of life must fight back, now. If we allow this administration to tear up federal union contracts, fire federal workers who stand up for our legal rights and target federal unions and union activists, they won’t stop there. An injury to one is an injury to all. It is time for the labor movement and the American workforce to rise up for our rights and fight for our country—whatever it takes.
Bricklayers (BAC):
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 [periods] 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 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.”Â
Communications Workers of America (CWA):
Last night, President Trump issued yet another illegal executive order targeted at workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain contracts. This time, he is trying to prevent workers at over 30 federal agencies from exercising their fundamental right to join together to improve their working conditions.
That’s bad enough. But the executive order makes it clear that Donald Trump wants to go even further. He says he has specifically targeted these workers and their unions because they have filed grievances against him and members of his administration over illegal layoffs and other actions they have taken to violate union contracts and federal law.
CWA is a fighting union. When our employers violate our collective bargaining agreements, when they refuse to bargain fair contracts, when they stand in the way of workers’ organizing to join our union, we use every tool we have to protect our rights. That is exactly what the federal workers are doing, and Donald Trump is attempting to punish them for it.
We won’t back down. We won’t be silenced. Our solidarity is stronger than Donald Trump and the CEOs and billionaires who helped elect him. We will rally, we will march, and, if necessary, we will strike to ensure that every worker is able to join a union and collectively bargain to ensure a better future for themself and their family.
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE):
IFPTE condemns in the strongest possible terms the Trump Administration’s clearly illegal attempt to eliminate collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, including thousands of IFPTE-represented members. There is little doubt that this rogue action is in response to Labor’s successful efforts to block the other illegal EOs, presidential memos, and other directives from this administration to dismantle federal services. Make no mistake, IFPTE will join in coalition with the Labor movement in challenging this legally, legislatively, and at the grassroots levels.
Laborers (LIUNA) General President Brent Booker:
Late last night the Trump Administration issued an Executive Order that robs American workers of their basic rights.
Trump ran on a platform of fighting for working Americans. Instead, with this Executive Order, the White House has stripped almost a million federal workers of their union rights and representation—merely for exercising those rights. This order is a blatant attack on the fundamental freedoms guaranteed to working Americans and an overt attempt to silence workers.
LIUNA represents thousands of federal workers, many of whom are veterans who served this country in the military and have continued that service as federal civil servants. An attack on one of us is an attack on all—solidarity is at the very heart of our union and one of the main principles upon which we were founded.
For nearly 125 years LIUNA has utilized collective bargaining to ensure good jobs for its members and we intend to continue this work even when the highest office in the land engages in the vile practice of union busting.
LIUNA members stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters across the Labor Movement and we will rise up together to defend our rights.
Machinists (IAM) and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM):
We are deeply alarmed by the Trump administration’s signing of an executive order to demolish the collective bargaining rights of hundreds of thousands of federal workers. This reckless action directly attacks workers’ having a voice in the workplace and on the core principles of respect and dignity.
The Trump administration’s actions are an assault on the rights and job security for federal workers caring for our veterans, keeping our military ready, adjudicating passport applications, caring for our public lands, and performing countless other essential public services. This blatantly illegal move will create chaos and destroy our civil service system as we know it. We will fight this attack on our nation’s heroes and continue to uplift our dedicated public servants who keep our government running.
National Nurses United (NNU):Â
Registered nurses are appalled by this latest executive order that seeks to strip federal employees, including 15,000 registered nurses with National Nurses United, of their protected union rights. As union nurses, we know this is union busting. Our nurses have been on the front lines, calling out this administration’s attempts to dismantle and privatize our VA system. This latest attempt is a brazen effort to intimidate and silence us.
We will never abandon our patients, and we will continue to fight for the funding and safe staffing levels that our patients deserve. As nurses who care for our nation’s veterans, we know the VA is the best place for our patients to receive care, and study after study shows the VA provides far superior care to the private sector.
As union nurses, we understand that collective bargaining rights are fundamental to carrying out our critical role as patient advocates. It is because of VA nurses’ ability to speak up about patient safety concerns through our union that our nation’s veterans receive the highest level of care. We know that unionized hospitals have better outcomes than non-unionized hospitals, as nurses and other staff are able to speak up about their concerns and hold management accountable. Veterans deserve nurses who are free to advocate for their care without fear of retaliation, discipline, or losing their jobs.
Stripping bargaining rights for federal workers puts all worker protections in danger throughout the country. As members of National Nurses United, we contend that this executive order is a broad overreach of executive power and the union is exploring legal action.
Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) President Tyler Turner:
President Trump’s March 27 order to throw out collective bargaining requirements for more than 30 federal agencies, under the guise of “national security,” is an egregious attack on federal workers and the labor movement at large.
The order’s intent is obvious: silence workers, force obedience and strip federal unions of the resources needed to fight back against this illegal and unjust action.
OPEIU stands alongside our union siblings across the country in the fight against the Trump administration’s blatant attempts at union busting. We call on Congress to take the action necessary to stymie this unilateral undermining of workers’ rights in both the public and private sectors.
Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) General President Jimmy Williams Jr.:
This may be the biggest attack on the Labor Movement in American history. Approximately 700,000 federal workers have been stripped of their right to collectively bargain. The people who make sure your food is safe to eat, care for veterans, and protect us from public health emergencies no longer have collective power and a voice at work.
This is what we mean when we say the Trump administration is coming for unions, and they are not afraid to hide it.
When union busting begins at the White House, it gives power to other bosses to do the same, and we can’t let that happen. Part of what made President Reagan’s 1981 attack on striking Air Traffic Controllers so devastating to our movement was our response. We cannot make the same mistake.
If President Trump wants to continue his war on the working class with the support of his oligarch friends, then workers must fight back.
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union-UFCW (RWDSU-UFCW) President Stuart Appelbaum:
The RWDSU condemns the Trump administration’s effort to deny federal workers their rights to bargain collectively. These workers provide important benefits and services to all Americans; they need to be treated with dignity and respect—and that includes being able to have a collective voice about their working conditions and concerns. We strongly oppose President Trump’s blatant union busting and we call on everyone to stand with federal workers. Even though the Trump administration is coming for federal workers today, all workers are under threat by these actions—and we will not remain silent.
School Administrators (AFSA):
The American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA) is deeply concerned about the new executive order issued by President Donald Trump, which represents a direct attack on workers’ rights across the federal government. Straight out of Project 2025, this order embodies the very definition of union-busting. It strips federal employees of their fundamental right to unionize and collectively bargain, impacting more than 30 agencies and undermining the protections workers rely on to ensure their voices are heard on the job.
This executive order dismantles the ability of federal workers—those who safeguard our food, care for veterans, protect public health, and perform countless other essential services—to organize for better conditions, fairer pay, and increased job security. It removes their voice from the workplace and prevents them from collaborating with their colleagues to improve their ability to serve the public effectively.
The fight for collective bargaining at the federal level is the fight for all unions. When one union is under attack, all unions are under attack. This is not just an assault on federal workers—it is a direct challenge to the rights of every worker in this country. This is a fight for the collective strength of the labor movement, for the fundamental right to organize, and for the protection of working conditions that unions have fought for over generations.
We will not allow Trump and his billionaire allies to destroy what generations of workers have fought tirelessly to build. The labor movement will not be silenced, and we will not stand idly by while our members are stripped of their fundamental rights.
Now is the time for every American who believes in workers’ rights to stand louder than ever. Reach out to your congressional representative and tell them to support unions. We will not let this government dismantle the rights and protections that unions have secured over decades of hard work. Our fight has just begun.
SEIU President April Verrett:
America’s public service workers don’t work for profits, politics, or for glory—they serve our nation. The President’s latest unlawful executive order attacking federal unions is a direct attack not just on federal employees, but on all workers who seek a collective voice to bargain for a better future—and on everyone who relies on the services that federal workers provide.
SEIU’s 2 million members—including nearly 80,000 federal workers who are first responders and VA nurses, doctors, and hospital workers across the country—stand in solidarity with our union siblings at AFGE, AFSCME, NTEU and other unions. We will not let this administration’s union-busting tactics silence us or take away our rights, and we will not take orders from an unelected billionaire.
Across America, working people have been joining together across race, standing up to bad bosses and demanding unions. Worker power is unstoppable.
Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE):
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) condemns the Trump administration’s executive order stripping ~700,000 federal workers of their right to join together and collectively bargain. This unfounded and politically motivated attack on workers and freedom of speech, freedom of contract, and freedom of association constitutes the most egregious attack on the labor movement in United States history.
The Administration is attempting to silence the very workers who inspect our food, care for our veterans, and protect our communities. Why? Because as workers we have real power when we stand together, and the President knows it. It’s retaliation against unions for doing their legal duty: stand up and defend workers on the job, in court, and in Congress. These rights-stripping executive actions are a warning to every working person in this country: if you use your free speech to stand up for yourself, you’re next.
The Administration’s actions are the very definition of union-busting and we’ve seen it before. In 2004, then–reality TV host Donald Trump crossed an IATSE picket line in New York City during a labor dispute on The Apprentice. Today, we see nothing has changed. Once a union buster, always a union buster.
Entertainment workers know what it means to fight for a voice on the job. Behind the scenes, IATSE members build the sets, light the stages, and so much more to make the magic happen. Like Federal workers, our work can feel invisible—and too often we are treated as expendable. That’s why solidarity matters. When one group of workers loses their rights, it weakens all of us. When one group is silenced, the entire labor movement must amplify its voice in unison.
Unions aren’t going anywhere. A strong 70% supermajority of Americans approve of the labor movement, far higher than the approval of any politician in either political party. Now is the time to organize, mobilize, and fight back together.
UAW President Shawn Fain:Â
Yesterday, President Trump signed an order that tramples on the union rights of more than a million federal workers, stripping them of their ability to negotiate over their working conditions. The 1 million members of the UAW stand with federal workers and their union, AFGE, against the attacks from the Trump administration.
When I was 12, the Reagan administration famously busted the air traffic controllers’ union, PATCO, firing over 11,000 striking controllers and blacklisting them from federal jobs. It wasn’t just about PATCO—it sent a message to employers everywhere that it was open season on the working class. The labor movement failed to act in that moment, and we have been paying the price ever since.
The actions the administration has taken today are many times worse than PATCO, affecting over 1 million federal employees across at least 18 agencies. These actions are not just an attack on unions—it’s an attack on free speech, on workers’ right to organize, on the very idea that people should have a say in their own jobs and futures. Our own members are affected by these actions, including hundreds of UAW members at National Institutes of Health.
We have learned from the past and won’t sit back quietly while unions are dismantled. The labor movement is not about party politics. We aren’t Democrats or Republicans. We’re trade unionists. And when you come after workers, you’re going to find us standing shoulder to shoulder, ready to fight back. Â
UNITE HERE:
Trump’s union-busting executive order targeting Federal workers’ collective bargaining rights is more than an attack on them—it’s an attack on us all and the government services that millions of Americans rely on. Together with AFL-CIO and all government workers, we will beat this.
United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) General President Mark McManus:
The men and women of the United Association are on the front lines protecting our national security by building, maintaining, and modernizing our warships and submarines. With thousands of our members—many of them veterans themselves, working on the very ships they served on—at federal shipyards nationwide, we are proud to play an essential role preparing the world’s finest fighting force. This executive action not only breaks an agreement while it is still in effect, but it will directly impact our national security and undermine the fair wages and benefits these patriotic welders, pipefitters, and mechanics have earned.
We will continue to stand up for our workers, and we will continue to do our part for our national security and for the brave men and women of our armed forces. We will not be deterred by this blatant anti-worker action. We will continue to do our jobs.
United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International President Marc Perrone:
Collective bargaining is a fundamental right that ensures workers have safe workplaces, a voice on the job, and the ability to provide for their families. This executive order undermines those rights for hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have dedicated their careers to serving the American people.
Weakening collective bargaining does not just hurt federal workers—it sets a dangerous and chilling precedent for all workers. At a time when too many families are struggling to make ends meet, we should be strengthening worker protections, not taking them away.
The UFCW offers its full support for federal workers and their right to negotiate contracts that protect them on the job.
United Steelworkers (USW) International President David McCall:
Collective bargaining serves as one of the most powerful tools workers have to balance the scales, maintain a voice in the workplace and hold employers accountable.
Today’s attack on federal workers and the effort to strip hundreds of thousands of them of their collective bargaining rights is nothing less than an attempt to silence workers who have devoted their lives to serving the public. Â
Federal workers keep our communities safe, from providing vital resources to veterans to promoting public health. They also serve as stewards of our tax dollars, providing an essential stopgap between cronyism and sound government.
By lashing out at dedicated public servants, this executive order undermines our federal institutions and invites true waste, fraud and abuse.
Utility Workers (UWUA) President James Slevin:
This executive order represents a threat to all working people, which we take very seriously. Silencing dedicated federal employees in essential roles undermines our national security and makes it more difficult to serve veterans, secure the border, and protect public health. Unions and the rights they provide improve federal workers’ ability to come up with solutions that best serve the American people.
We stand in solidarity with our union brothers and sisters who are impacted by this disastrous executive order. We will not back down. We stand ready to fight against this unconstitutional overreach of executive authority.
Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) Executive Director Sam Wheeler:
Last night President Trump issued an unlawful Executive Order purporting to strip nearly two-thirds of the federal workforce of their collective bargaining rights. This illegal attack on roughly 700,000 federal workers and their unions is an assault on the entire labor movement and all American workers.
It’s not surprising that the billionaires in the Trump Administration hate unions. Unions are a bulwark against tyranny, both in the workplace and in civil society. Right now, federal union members are defending the American people from Elon Musk’s reckless and unconstitutional dismantling of the federal government. And we know that these occurrences won’t stop with federal unions—the anti-union zealots in the Administration want every worker in America weak, isolated, disposable and at the mercy of their boss.
The WGAE stands ready to join with our sibling unions and the broader labor movement to resist this attack on working people. We must stand together.
Department for Professional Employees (DPE) President Jennifer Dorning:
President Trump’s executive order attempting to dismantle federal employees’ collective bargaining rights is a blatant attack on working people, including the members of multiple DPE affiliate unions. Professionals across the federal workforce join together in union to improve their workplaces and help deliver quality, reliable services to the American people. Our country is weakened by this unprecedented attempt at union-busting. President Trump’s actions demonstrate that he does not respect workers.
Metal Trades Department:
The Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO strongly condemns President Trump’s illegal overnight executive order attempting to strip hundreds of thousands of federal employees of their collective bargaining rights.
“Once again, President Trump has shown his disdain for the federal workers that keep our country safe—the true patriots. Rather than reward them for their hard work, Trump is attempting to take away their union rights. Regardless of what President Trump claims, this EO is not about national security, but instead about retaliating against labor unions that have continuously fought back and won on behalf of federal employees in court,” says Metal Trades Department President Ed Jones.
“If President Trump truly cared about national security, he would have firmly addressed the recent lack of protocol surrounding his top national security officials’ use of an unsecured app to discuss and employ a war strike,” said Jones. “This faux concern for national security is nothing more than a veiled attempt to destroy further and erode our government.” Â
The Metal Trades Department is working with its affiliated international and national unions, allied organizations, and Metal Trades Councils to determine next steps. We expect to join our union siblings in challenging this illegal action in court and standing up for the rights of our unionized federal workforce across the country.Â
North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey:
For over a century—through wars, depressions, good times and bad—collective bargaining has been the one thing working people could count on. This executive order is an unprecedented assault on worker freedom and a direct attack on those fundamental rights. Americans know that patriotic blue-collar workers built this country, not billionaires. They also know that one of the last best chances to make it to the middle class is collective bargaining. NABTU and our affiliated unions will stand shoulder to shoulder with the entire labor movement to fight this head-on—and we will not back down.
Transportation Trades Department (TTD) President Greg Regan and Secretary-Treasurer Shari Semelsberger:
As America’s largest transportation labor federation representing thousands of federal workers, we condemn this blatant attack on the bargaining rights of civil servants across more than two dozen federal agencies.
Collective bargaining is an American ideal, built over generations, that allows working people to have a voice regarding their terms of employment. The federal workers who keep this country moving and keep Americans safe should not be used as pawns in a political game.
Federal employees already abide by strict collective bargaining terms, and forfeit many of the rights that private sector employees maintain, including wage and benefit negotiations and the right to strike. The Trump Administration’s actions leave these workers powerless to employer retaliation and unfair labor practices.
While today it is federal union workers who are harmed, there is no telling what this precedent could mean for every American worker. Labor is in this fight together, and we will stand strong behind the hundreds of thousands of public employees and veterans who serve our nation.
AFGE Council 238 President Marie Owens Powell:
The recent executive order from President Trump constitutes a shameful assault on the rights of federal workers. This action endangers not only federal employees and their unions, but also the fundamental right of all Americans to organize and collectively bargain for fair working conditions.Â
The contract AFGE Council 238 ratified last year includes crucial provisions meant to ensure the EPA can maintain a strong workforce and safeguard the scientific principles that guide our work, allowing us to meet this climate emergency moment. These collective bargaining agreements help—not hurt—our ability to serve the American people. Our members fought hard for this contract, and we will not go down without a fight.Â
For decades EPA employees have served this nation honorably, working to uphold environmental standards and protect the health of Americans, and they deserve far better than this blatant act of political reprisal. AFGE Council 238 will relentlessly fight to protect the rights of our members from these unprecedented attacks and the rights of the American people to live in a healthy environment.
Alaska State AFL-CIO President Joelle Hall:Â
Alaskans woke up today to discover President Trump issued an illegal executive order to strip the collective bargaining rights of over 700,000 federal civil servants—nurses, scientists, veterans, and others who keep our great nation running. This EO will have an outsized impact on Alaska, as our state has one of the highest densities of federal workers.Â
Make no mistake; this is an all-out attack on working families and collective bargaining rights. The billionaire class is taking away the only tool workers have that’s proven to level the playing field.Â
Countless Americans died to secure the right to form and belong to a union; we won’t stand idly by as it’s taken away with the stroke of a pen. Alaska’s labor movement stands ready to fight this illegal power grab at every turn.Â
Pay close attention to those who chose not to speak out, for those who remain silent when the rights of workers are under attack do not stand on the side of workers. We call on Alaska’s congressional delegation to stand up to this illegal power grab and fight to protect the countless working families impacted by this executive order.Â
And to every single Alaskan who cares about the fundamental freedom of all workers, now is the time to be even louder. Our solidarity as workers, Alaskans, and Americans has never been more essential.
California Labor Federation President Lorena Gonzalez:
Almost 700,000 federal workers have been illegally stripped of their collective bargaining rights literally overnight. These workers care for our veterans, keep our food and water safe, protect our public health and basically run our federal government.
This union-busting is unprecedented. Working men and women in our country deserve better. We will not sit back and allow President Trump and his billionaire boys club to destroy our rights as workers and union members.
Long Island Federation of Labor President John R. Durso and Executive Director Ryan Stanton:
Last night with the stroke of a pen President Trump attempted to eliminate collective bargaining for nearly a million workers. He is anti-union, anti-worker, and anti-democracy.
This is more than a policy dispute—it is a fundamental threat to the balance of power and the very principles that have safeguarded our republic since its founding. In his Farewell Address, President George Washington warned the nation of the dangers of political factions that place party loyalty above the public good, and of the creeping rise of despotism when checks and balances are ignored or dismantled.
The labor movement has always been a bulwark against the abuse of power. An attack on one, is an attack on all, and we do not take lightly any effort to circumvent the foundational rights enshrined in our Constitution—rights fought for by generations of working Americans. We will not be silent as the power of the executive is used to sow division, punish political opponents, and undermine the rule of law.
Maine AFL-CIO:
On Thursday, President Donald [Trump] signed an executive order claiming to outlaw collective bargaining for nearly a million federal workers, citing a little-used provision of federal labor law relating to national security issues. The president claims he is authorized by a rarely-used provision in the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act to exclude federal agencies from collective bargaining rights if the rules “cannot be applied to that agency or subdivision in a manner consistent with national security requirements.” The president’s edict eliminates collective bargaining for nearly 75% of federal workers who are currently represented by unions, according to Government Executive.
Specifically, the executive order illegally terminates union contracts for workers at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the Togus VA Medical Center, the Defense Financing Accounting Services (DFAS) in Limestone, SUPSHIP Bath at BIW and other federal workplaces in Maine.
“The Portsmouth Metal Trades Council stands in strong opposition to the executive orders and memo from the Office of Personnel eliminating collective bargaining rights for a large portion of our federal workforce,” said Alana Schaeffer, President of the Metal Trades Council. “For decades, collective bargaining has provided a structured and effective mechanism for federal employees to negotiate issues of workplace safety, effective training, and working conditions, as well as advocating for competitive wages with the private sector, ensuring a stable and motivated workforce. The direct assault on dedicated public servants by stripping these rights is grossly undermining the essential role that labor unions play in advocating for employees and protecting them from unfair and inequitable treatment.”
Schaeffer continued, “The assault on federal workers’ collective bargaining rights will lead to workforce instability, increased turnover, and difficulty in retaining experienced personnel as well as affect the morale of our workforce. An unstable, weakened workforce due to a loss of these rights will gravely impact national security. The Portsmouth Metal Trades Council stands strong in our support of the tradesworkers we represent and their rights to collectively bargain.”
“Straight out of Project 2025, this Executive Order is union busting. It is an attack on workers’ fundamental rights and our freedom of speech and association. Workers in Maine who care for our veterans, service our submarines, make sure our food is safe to eat and much more will no longer have a legal right to organize with their co-workers for better conditions to deliver the best services possible,” said Matt Schlobohm, Executive Director of the Maine AFL-CIO. “We stand in solidarity with our federal union family, a third of whom are military veterans. We will not stand by as our rights are illegally stripped away and our democratic institutions are dismantled by executive fiat. We will fight this with everything we have.”
Maryland State and D.C. AFL-CIO President Donna S. Edwards:
President Trump’s executive order is a direct and shameful attack on the rights of working people. It undermines the fundamental right of federal workers to unionize and collectively bargain—rights that generations of workers have fought and sacrificed to secure. This is nothing less than union-busting at the highest level.
The Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO stands in unwavering solidarity with federal workers. We will not stand by while workers’ voices are silenced, and their rights trampled. Our labor movement is united and resolute, and we will fight this assault on working people with every tool at our disposal.
Massachusetts AFL-CIO:Â
Just yesterday, we saw another unprecedented attack on the working class with the executive order stripping collective bargaining and union rights from 700,000 federal workers.
This executive order is another illegal attempt to gut the rights of the working class, straight out of the Project 2025 playbook. It strips the fundamental right to unionize and collectively bargain from workers across the federal government at more than 30 agencies. These are dedicated public servants who are our food inspectors, care for our veterans, help us in public health emergencies, and so many more who are being bullied out of their voice on the job. It’s clear that this is a retaliatory order as punishment for unions who are leading the fight against the administration’s illegal actions in court—and a blatant attempt to silence us and intimidate others for exercising their legal rights. Â
To every single American who cares about the fundamental freedom of all workers, now is the time to be even louder. The labor movement is not about to let Trump and his unelected billionaire club destroy the freedoms that are the bedrock of American democracy. We will fight this outrageous attack on our members with every fiber of our collective being.
Michigan State AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber:
Donald Trump’s executive order gutting collective bargaining for federal workers is a disgrace. This has nothing to do with national security—it’s about taking away the rights of working people so it’s harder for the working class to fight back. Trump and Elon [Musk] are attacking unions because they know we won’t let them turn our nation over to their billionaire bedfellows. We stand with federal workers in the fight ahead—an injury to one is an injury to all. The right to collectively bargain is a fundamental American freedom, and we will fight like hell to protect it.
Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham:
In the Labor Movement we often ask the question, “Which side are you on?” If his previous actions didn’t already show where he stands, President Trump’s Executive Order to take away federal workers’ fundamental right to union representation and a voice on the job shows he stands in direct opposition to every working person in our nation.
Collective bargaining for federal government workers has enjoyed support for decades from Presidents of both parties. Without union representation, federal employees—especially whistleblowers and veterans—lose vital protections from retaliation and political interference.
If President Trump is allowed to get away with rampant union busting, it means he can take away union rights from working people in Minnesota and across the nation. It’s time for Minnesota’s Republicans to decide whether they stand with union busters like Donald Trump and Elon Musk or working Minnesotans. We are watching.
New York City Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez:
The President’s Executive Order is nothing more than blatant union-busting and retaliation against dedicated federal workers for exercising their rights. It strips hundreds of thousands of public servants of their fundamental right to collective bargaining not to improve government, but to consolidate power at workers’ expense. This is about silencing the workers who keep our country running while paving the way for a billionaire-backed takeover of our public institutions.
Federal employees—many of whom are veterans and frontline public servants here in New York City—secure our airports, protect our food and water, and provide critical services every day. Silencing them doesn’t make government more efficient; it weakens the services millions of Americans rely on. The New York City labor movement stands firmly against this attack on working people and communities. An injury to one is an injury to all, and we will fight back against any attempt to silence workers and roll back our hard-won rights.
New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento:
This executive order is a direct attack on working people, an assault on workers’ rights, and a blatant attempt to silence workers. It strips workers across the federal government of their fundamental right to unionize and collectively bargain. It is a textbook example of union-busting.
Let me be very clear, the Union Movement in New York State stands united. We will fight this outrageous assault on working people with all the strength of our collective resolve.
North Carolina State AFL-CIO President MaryBe McMillan:
North Carolina’s labor movement strongly condemns President Trump’s illegal action to deprive federal workers across our country of their fundamental freedom to unionize.
Trump is punishing people who care for our veterans, ensure the safety of our food and drug supply, respond to emergencies, and do so much more for having the courage to defend themselves and the critical public services they provide from an unelected billionaire and a President who would see himself a king with the right to do as he pleases.Â
Unions of working people have been the principal organized opposition to Trump’s Project 2025 agenda, and this attempt to break our resolve by busting our unions is payback.Â
We call on Senators [Thom] Tillis and [Ted] Budd and our entire congressional delegation to defend federal workers’ rights and stand up against this illegal action. We will not be silenced. We know that our solidarity is our strength, and we will continue to stand up and stand together until our freedom and our democratic rights are restored.
North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor:
In a sweeping attack on federal workers, Donald Trump has signed an executive order eliminating collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees—including right here in Northeast Ohio. Â
Following Trump’s order, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a memo directing federal agencies to end union rights, shut down grievance procedures, take away union representation, and rip up existing union contracts. Using a distorted interpretation of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Trump is trying to justify this action under the guise of “national security.” Â
Let’s be clear: this is not about national security—it’s retaliation against workers who are standing up for their rights.
This latest assault builds on the administration’s earlier move to terminate the collective bargaining agreement for tens of thousands of TSA employees, an action the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) rightfully called an “unprovoked attack.” It’s clear: Trump isn’t just eroding labor rights—he’s dismantling them.
“The right to collectively bargain is fundamental—not just for federal workers, but for all working people,” said Brian Pearson, Executive Secretary of the North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor. “This is union-busting at the highest level. Stripping federal workers of their union rights is a clear attempt to silence them, weaken their power, and crush organized labor nationwide. But make no mistake—we won’t back down.”
As AFGE prepares legal action, we stand ready to support our affiliate unions in this fight. We call on all union members and allies to raise their voices, take action, and stand in solidarity against this blatant attack on workers’ rights.
Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor:
Let’s call this what it is: a direct assault on working people.
With one executive order, the Trump administration is stripping union rights from tens of thousands of federal workers—silencing their voices at more than 30 agencies. These are the same workers who keep our food safe, care for our veterans, and protect public health. Now, they’re being punished for standing up to this administration in court.
This isn’t some policy change—it’s union-busting, plain and simple. It’s pulled right out of Project 2025 and meant to weaken worker power and dismantle unions.
In Oregon, we don’t back down from a fight. We know what it means to stand up to bullies. And we won’t stand by while extremists try to roll back generations of progress. To our union siblings across the federal government—we see you, we’ve got your back, and we’re in this with you.
San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council Secretary-Treasurer Rudy Gonzalez:
The Trump administration is showing us exactly who they are—union busters. The attack on federal worker rights to collectively bargain will not go unchallenged by the labor movement. They are awakening the spirit of the American worker who cannot and will not be “nullified” or silenced. We stand with our sisters and brothers in the federal workforce and call upon our labor allies to stand with us and fight these attacks. Whatever it takes.
Texas AFL-CIO:
“Trump is trying to silence the labor movement, but we’re not going anywhere,” said Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy. “Texas union members stand shoulder to shoulder with federal employees against this fraudster. We are rising up, organizing, and ready to defend our brothers and sisters—whatever it takes.”
Texas is home to more than 130,000 federal workers across agencies—the third most in the country. The majority of those are employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale:
The freedom to stand together with our coworkers and collectively bargain with employers is a fundamental American right. No politician, including Donald Trump, has the right to take away our unions. We know an injury to one is an injury to all. The men and women of Wisconsin's labor movement stand in solidarity in support of these fundamental American values. Together, we will resist attacks on our freedoms, our jobs and our union rights.
Economic Policy Institute (EPI):
President Trump dismantling collective bargaining rights from more than a million federal workers is pure political retribution. The administration has selectively revoked collective bargaining rights from federal workers represented by unions that are fighting against the administration’s efforts to tear down the federal government and the core services it provides. This is the behavior of an autocrat who grants rights to those who bow down to him and strips the rights of those who challenge him. It is a direct assault on the principles of democracy and the rule of law.
We cannot allow this power grab to go unchallenged. By undermining the rights of workers who ensure our national security, public health, and economic stability, the administration is not only attacking unions but also jeopardizing the very services that keep our nation safe and functional. This is a dangerous erosion of workers’ rights and democratic principles, and we in the progressive movement must stand together with these workers and their unions to defend our democracy.
Congressional Labor Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Steven Horsford (NV-04) and Mark Pocan (WI-02):
Workers deserve the right to collectively bargain, full stop. Trump’s decision to unilaterally revoke collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal workers demonstrates a blatant disregard for hardworking Americans—from nurses to firefighters to law enforcement officers and many more. We call on anyone who claims to stand for working people to join us in condemning this overreach and in fighting to reverse this assault on the labor movement.
Kenneth Quinnell
Fri, 03/28/2025 - 11:25
