Unions
Union demands federal prison leaders be held in contempt after agency ‘openly defies’ court order
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons director reportedly said in a meeting shortly before an injunction required him to restore the agency’s union contracts, “I don’t take directives from the court. I take my orders from the president.”
Bureau of Prisons is the latest agency ordered to reinstate union rights
As of Tuesday, at least one correctional facility has refused to recognize its union local, in apparent contravention of a preliminary injunction issued last week.
TSA took away its officers’ chairs. The union isn’t sitting quietly
The Trump administration has taken several actions to weaken Transportation Security Administration employees’ collective bargaining rights.
Appeals court seemingly OKs VA’s contested union contract expiration
A three-judge panel found that a judge’s ruling in August forcing the VA to maintain its CBAs with AFGE improperly delved into questions of compliance with particular contract provisions.
Updated
EPA union sues management over contract termination
AFGE accused EPA leadership of implementing President Trump’s executive order stripping many federal employees of their collective bargaining rights partly so it could discipline employees who signed an open letter criticizing Administrator Lee Zeldin more easily.
FLRA ruling puts ball back in courts’ court on Trump’s union EOs
The National Treasury Employees Union said Wednesday that a recent Federal Labor Relations Authority decision supports its argument that it cannot seek redress through administrative channels.
VA disputes arbitration fees split with union it’s fighting to no longer recognize
VA officials say the agency will pay a "portion" of what a third-party arbitrator billed it, but is "unable to pay” for services rendered when VA didn't officially recognize its largest union.
Trump’s 2027 pay freeze has unions warning of recruitment, retention problems
Critics of President Trump’s plan to keep most federal employees’, save for federal law enforcement officers and military service members, pay at 2026 levels say it picks winners and losers.
Unions: OPM’s suitability and performance management overhauls assert ‘plenary’ authority over federal firing
A coalition of labor groups sued the Trump administration Monday, arguing recent moves to centralize authority within the Office of Personnel Management and insert subjective criteria into employee evaluations amount to an end-run around the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act.
Unions accuse mediation agency of ‘doublespeak’ in updated lawsuit
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service’s new policy allowing it to investigate the arbitrability of disputes if an agency objects to participating in them exceeds the “ministerial” agency’s authority, labor groups argue.
Archives workers granted telework ahead of D.C. IndyCar race
But a union representing employees at the National Archives’ headquarters said the measure should extend past this weekend, as the building is beset by temporary construction associated with the race.
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NTEU sets deadline for its members to resume paying dues
The union’s deadline comes as the Trump administration has stripped collective bargaining rights from roughly two-thirds of NTEU members and disrupted its primary source of revenue.
IRS says a new policy ‘moots’ NTEU’s First Amendment lawsuit. The union isn’t so sure
A new policy allows only “agency-sponsored materials” to be posted on communal office bulletin boards, but agency officials still say they have discretion to approve or deny other documents.
Key oversight and federal workforce nominees confirmed by Senate
Several of the individuals will lead agencies that have been downsized or otherwise weakened by the Trump administration.
Judge rejects VA’s third attempt to cancel union contracts
U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose OK'd a motion to enforce her prior preliminary injunction preserving collective bargaining at the Veterans Affairs Department on the eve of its planned termination of a collective bargaining agreement with AFGE.
Mediation agency changes how labor disputes move forward
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service says it is clarifying when it can decline to provide arbitrators, a change unions say exceeds its role.
VA’s third attempt to scrap union contract heads back to court
The Veterans Affairs Department says it is following the terms of an expiring agreement. AFGE argues VA is ignoring a requirement to keep the contract in place during negotiations.
AFGE sues over EEOC’s apparent shutdown of class action cases against agencies
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chairwoman Andrea Lucas surreptitiously ordered a halt on all class-action proceedings in which a federal agency is a defendant last December, despite regulations requiring such cases be handled “promptly.”
Updated
As USDA relocation deadlines near, employees say questions remain unanswered
Employees say they still lack key details about exemptions, moving costs and next steps as USDA continues issuing relocation notices.
Unions ask for injunction restoring collective bargaining at Defense
The latest filing from a pair of federal employee unions highlights the ways in which the Pentagon strayed from the Trump administration’s own guidance for implementing the president’s executive order banning collective bargaining at most agencies on national security grounds.
