Trump Administration Issues New Union-Busting Executive Order Days Before Labor Day

Yesterday, President Trump issued a new executive order ripping away collective bargaining rights from workers at NASA, the International Trade Association, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the National Weather Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the Bureau of Reclamation and others just days ahead of Labor Day. The order was an expansion of his March order, which stripped the right to unionize and collectively bargain from workers at more than 30 different federal agencies.

"It's not surprising, sadly," said Matt Biggs, national President of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, whose union represents a portion of NASA's workforce along with the American Federation of Government Employees. "What is surprising is that on the eve of Labor Day weekend, when workers are to be celebrated, the Trump administration has doubled down on being the most anti-labor, anti-worker administration in US history. We will continue to fight in the courts, on the Hill, and at the grassroots levels against this."

"This is how President Trump is commemorating Labor Day: continuing his administration’s all-out attack on workers and unions," said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. "This new executive order once again distorts the law by ripping away the collective bargaining rights of federal workers in an attempt to silence their voices on the job. Every one of these orders undercuts the government services we all rely on, especially after DOGE has already recklessly gutted staff, and this order is no different. Among several others, the administration targeted three agencies that track and warn us about extreme weather and natural disasters. When those workers can’t speak up on the job and make sure their offices are serving the American people, we are all at risk." Read more from Government Executive and Common Dreams.