Trump Loses Bid to Void Federal Worker Union Deals During Appeal

The Trump administration must continue to recognize collecting bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees while it appeals a court loss.

Judge Paul Friedman of the US District Court for the District of Columbia denied on Thursday the government’s bid to stay his April 25 preliminary injunction, which temporarily barred agencies from stripping employees of their collective bargaining rights.

The ruling is a setback for President Donald Trump’s effort to weaken unions as his administration seeks to shrink the federal workforce.

At the center of the case is an executive order he signed in March stripping workers of their union rights in the name of “national security.” The order touched more than 40 government offices, including the departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Treasury.

The administration also sued to nullify labor contracts with the National Treasury Employees Union and the American Federation of Government Employees. The unions together represent a million federal employees.

The unions launched a legal counterattack in response. NTEU sued the Trump administration in D.C. court, arguing the order violates federal labor law. AFGE brought a similar lawsuit in the Northern District of California.

Friedman’s preliminary injunction order restored labor rights for workers across those more than 40 government offices.

The case is Nat’l Treasury Emp. Union v. Trump, D.D.C., 1:25-cv-00935, 5/1/25.