A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to rescind collective bargaining rights from employees at nearly a dozen government agencies and departments.
The order from U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman requires federal agencies to engage with their employees’ unions and to resume collecting dues payments, among other normal employee relations business. The judge’s order covers employees at the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Energy, the Office of Personnel Management and other major agencies.
Trump issued an executive order last month that purports to rescind the longstanding rights of most public employees to join unions that represent them in collective bargaining over their employment terms. He also moved to end those unions’ existing contracts with the government. Trump’s executive order relied on an obscure wartime provision in the federal labor laws that authorizes the president to exempt agencies engaged in national security work.
The National Treasury Employees Union sued, arguing that Trump exceeded his powers under the collective bargaining laws. The NTEU is also arguing that Trump issued the order in retaliation for its efforts to block his moves to downsize government.
Friedman suggested during a hearing Wednesday that the administration's moves appear targeted toward unions that have opposed his agenda.
The Trump administration has also filed its own lawsuits in Kentucky and Texas seeking to invalidate the NTEU’s contracts with various agencies.
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