USDA, Staff Union Dispute Is Latest Among Federal Agencies

A disagreement between a U.S Department of Agriculture lawyers’ union and the agency’s general counsel is the latest in a series of labor disputes between the Trump administration and federal government unions.

The administration is looking to sideline labor representatives, the unions say, while agency officials say the groups in some cases are more interested in preserving the status quo than in improving how the government provides services to taxpayers.

Federal unions represent about half the nation’s 2.1 million civilian employees, and fundamental disagreements between the unions and the administration has led to conflicts across government over telework, “official time” ...