Energy Dept., NASA take steps to oust their unions

The Energy Department and NASA on Tuesday became the latest agencies to move toward removing organized labor from their workplaces, following controversial guidance issued by the Office of Personnel Management last month.

Last March, President Trump issued an executive order citing a seldom-used provision of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act to strip two-thirds of the federal workforce, including Energy Department employees, of their collective bargaining rights, under the auspices of national security. And in August, he issued another order including NASA and nearly half a dozen more agencies to the first edict’s coverage.

On Tuesday, the Energy Department issued notices to the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union informing them that it is terminating their union contracts, effective immediately.

“In issuing EO 14251, President Trump determined under 5 U.S.C. 7103(b)(1) that (1) DOE has a primary function of intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative or national security work; and (2) the provisions of the [federal sector labor management relations statute] cannot be applied to DOE in a manner consistent with national security requirements and considerations,” the department wrote in one notice obtained by Government Executive. “As a direct consequence of this exclusion from the provisions of 5 U.S.C. Chapter 71, the agency is unable to recognize the union as the exclusive representative of employees within this component for collective bargaining purposes. This change will not affect your fundamental employment rights and protections.”

American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley decried the termination notices in a statement Wednesday. He noted that some of the bargaining units had been in place for more than half a century, predating the Civil Service Reform Act’s enactment.

“Collective bargaining plays a critical role in fostering safe, protective, and collaborative workplaces—and the Department of Energy’s action to decertify our local union chapters is a direct attack on the dedicated employees who serve our country with honor and distinction,” he said. “AFGE continues to challenge President Trump’s anti-union executive orders in court and in Congress. Meanwhile, our union remains hard at work organizing, representing, and defending federal employees in every workplace affected by these orders.”

While NASA has yet to formally terminate its contract with IFPTE, it has begun unilaterally changing employees’ personnel files to label their positions as ineligible for collective bargaining. NASA announced it would take these steps last September but seemingly did not begin implementing them until last month.

The moves come just weeks after OPM updated its guidance governing implementation of the two union executive orders.

Since last August, the document advised against terminating collective bargaining agreements reached with NTEU, seemingly an acknowledgement that federal appellate judges had warned against doing so in a decision last year. But in last month’s update, OPM Director Scott Kupor encouraged agencies that had not terminated their CBAs to move forward with doing so, even those held with NTEU.

IFPTE National President Matt Biggs, whose union sued to block the executive order’s implementation at NASA last October, said the recent actions taken by NASA are “illegal and premature.”

“NASA’s leadership has made the conscious decision to bust their unions, something that will harm their underlying mission and all but eliminate the once very productive labor-management partnership that has endured through multiple administrations of both parties, including the first Trump administration," Biggs said. “It’s both shameful and sad.”

NASA directed requests for comment for this story to the Justice Department, citing IFPTE’s pending litigation. The Energy Department did not respond to a request for comment.