Second Union Challenges Trump’s Order Ending Labor Contracts (2)

The largest federal union is leading an organized labor coalition challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking a vast reduction of collective bargaining in the federal sector.

American Federation of Government Employees and other unions sued the Trump administration Thursday for allegedly running afoul of the US Constitution with its anti-union directive, including violating its free speech and due process rights.

“The White House made clear that it was eliminating federal labor law protections for the vast majority of federal workers in response to constitutionally-protected speech and petitioning activity by Plaintiffs and other federal employee unions in opposition to executive actions by the Trump Administration,” the union coalition said.

The Trump administration filed lawsuits against AFGE and National Treasury Employees Union to void collective bargaining agreements between agencies and those unions. The administration sued after Trump signed his executive order March 27 instructing agencies across the executive branch to stop collective bargaining with federal unions because of national security concerns.

The White House’s direct attack on federal sector unions appears to be part of its campaign to radically downsize the federal government by laying off thousands of workers and trying to unilaterally dismantle entire agencies.

The NTEU sued the administration earlier this week over its executive order claiming to nullify collective bargaining across much of the federal sector.

Like NTEU did in its lawsuit, the AFGE-led coaltion alleged that the White House’s own fact sheet accompanying Trump’s executive order made clear that the president is trying to retaliate against unions that have opposed elements of his agenda. That makes administration’s First Amendment violations explicit, the coalition said.

The unions claimed that Trump’s order stripped away their contractual rights without due process required by the Fifth Amendment. The order also violates the separations of powers by negating Congress’ grant of unionizing rights to federal workers, they said.

The labor coalition includes the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Service Employees International Union, National Nurses United, National Association of Government Employees, and National Federation of Federal Employees.

“This illegal executive order is a threat to every union, every contract, and the freedom for every single person to organize on the job and speak up for themselves and their co-workers,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement.

According to the White House’s fact sheet, federal sector labor law “enables hostile Federal unions to obstruct agency management,” which poses a danger for agencies with national security responsibilities.

“President Trump has the executive authority to ensure agencies vital to national security can execute their missions without delay,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.

The case is AFGE v. Trump, N.D. Cal., No. 25-03070, complaint filed 4/3/25.