Trump-Era Federal Union Dues Rule on Chopping Block in Proposal

The Federal Labor Relations Authority proposed revoking a Trump-era rule change that allowed unionized federal employees more leeway to revoke their permission to have dues deducted from their paychecks.

The agency’s proposal made public Tuesday would reinstate its longstanding policy allowing federal workers to withdraw their consent—known in labor circles as dues checkoffs—only at yearly intervals.

The move would roll back one part of the Trump administration’s campaign to change labor-management relations and employee rights in the federal sector, which generally weakened unions and diluted civil service protections. More than 1.1 million federal civilian employees are represented by a union, covering roughly half of the federal sector. The private sector unionization rate stands at approximately 6%.

The FLRA issued a rule in 2020 that permitted the revocation of dues checkoffs at any time following an initial one-year period after first paying dues.

Unions commonly use dues-checkoff arrangements with limited withdrawal windows to reduce the cost and administrative burden of collecting dues from members, and to establish certainty in revenue flow. But critics contend the arrangements trap workers who no longer support the union into continuing to pay dues.

The FLRA initiated the rulemaking at the behest of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents about 150,000 workers across dozens of agencies and departments.

The notice of proposed rulemaking will appear in Wednesday’s Federal Register. Public comment is due 30 days later.