Trump Signs EO Ending Union Rights At Federal Agencies With ‘National Security Missions’

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that will end collective bargaining for hundreds of thousands of federal employees whose work is related to national security, the White House said. 

The EO applies to public sector unions representing workers in federal agencies “with national security missions,” including the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Science Foundation, and the Coast Guard. A memo from the White House said that Trump was given the authority to limit union activity for national security purposes based on the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.

“President Trump is taking action to ensure that agencies vital to national security can execute their missions without delay and protect the American people,” the memo said. “The President needs a responsive and accountable civil service to protect our national security.”

Other agencies that would be impacted include immigration agencies like U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. International-focused departments and agencies like the Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the International Trade Commission would also have collective bargaining rights ended.

The Energy Department, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, EPA,  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, Food and Drug Administration, and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Treasury Department were also all named in the memo. 

The document added that Trump “supports constructive partnerships with unions who work with him; he will not tolerate mass obstruction that jeopardizes his ability to manage agencies with vital national security missions.”

The American Federation of Government Employees claimed that the announcement was an attack on free speech and would impact more than one million government workers. 

“President Trump’s latest executive order is a disgraceful and retaliatory attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of patriotic American civil servants—nearly one-third of whom are veterans—simply because they are members of a union that stands up to his harmful policies,” the union said. “This administration’s bullying tactics represent a clear threat not just to federal employees and their unions, but to every American who values democracy and the freedoms of speech and association.”

A separate memo from the Office of Personnel Management after the executive order was issued directed federal agencies to consult with legal counsel to begin implementing the directive.