Judge Grants Injunction, Blocks Order to Strip Federal Workers' Rights

Federal Judge Halts Executive Order Affecting Federal Workers' Union Rights

This week, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against a recent executive order from the White House. The order, which aimed to revoke union rights from nearly one million federal employees, was deemed likely unlawful.

The action was initiated by AFSCME and five other unions, who filed a lawsuit on April 3. This legal challenge targets President Donald Trump’s March 27 executive order. The unions argue that the order unfairly targeted the collective bargaining rights of approximately 950,000 federal workers.

The Trump administration justified the order by citing national security concerns. However, the unions contended that it was an unconstitutional retaliation, infringing on First Amendment rights due to their opposition and legal actions against the administration’s policies.

In their lawsuit, the unions also claimed that the administration violated the Fifth Amendment by nullifying collective bargaining agreements without proper legal procedure. They further accused the administration of overstepping its authority by applying a national security exemption to employees whose roles are unrelated to national security. This includes personnel from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, and Food Safety and Inspection Service, among others.

The lawsuit was brought forth by several major unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), AFSCME, National Association of Government Employees (NAGE-SEIU), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), National Nurses United (NNU), and Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

AFSCME President Lee Saunders remarked, “This is justice for the federal workers who were unfairly retaliated against and had their freedom to collectively bargain ripped away for standing up to illegal executive actions.” He further emphasized the importance of maintaining federal workers' rights, stating, “This executive order is a direct effort to silence federal workers’ voice on the job — an essential freedom that helps maintain the integrity of our democracy.”