Trump Order Ends Union Rights in Federal Agencies

President Trump says protecting national security gives him the authority to end collective bargaining with labor unions across most of the federal government, citing authority granted him under a 1978 law. His latest executive order, signed without public fanfare and announced late Thursday, appears to touch most of the federal government. Affected agencies include the departments of State, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Justice, and Commerce, as well as the part of Homeland Security responsible for border security.

Police and firefighters, the order says, are an exception. Trump said the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 gives him the authority to end collective bargaining with federal unions in these agencies due to their role in safeguarding national security. A fact sheet cited by the Hill says that the CSRA "enables hostile Federal unions to obstruct agency management. This is dangerous in agencies with national security responsibilities."

"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 fact sheet adds. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 820,000 federal and DC government workers, said late Thursday that it's "preparing immediate legal action and will fight relentlessly to protect our rights, our members, and all working Americans from these unprecedented attacks," per the AP. (More unions stories.)