EPA Union Deal to Shield Science From Politics as Election Looms

The EPA’s biggest union said on Wednesday it had ratified a new contract with the agency, winning scientific integrity protections for the first time.

Those provisions matter to the American Federation of Government Employees because they allege Donald Trump’s first presidency resulted in distortions and silencing of their scientific work.

“President Trump attacked the federal workforce in ways we never thought we’d see,” said Marie Owens Powell, president of AFGE Council 238, which represents some 8,000 agency employees.

The contract “puts employees in the best possible position to continue with the mission of the agency, no matter who sits in ...