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<\/a><\/p>\n Drew Friedman<\/a>@dfriedmanWFED<\/a><\/p>\n \n August 8, 2025 6:18 pm <\/p>\n 3 min read<\/p>\n Editor\u2019s Note: This story has been updated with comments from EPA.<\/p>\n The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it will no longer recognize its federal unions and that all collective bargaining agreements are terminated, effective immediately.<\/p>\n EPA\u2019s announcement makes it the second known agency this week to cancel collective bargaining for agency employees, following a similar announcement at the Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a> two days ago.<\/p>\n The impacted unions are the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Association of Government Employees, the Engineers and Scientists of California\u00a0and the National Association of Independent Labor. Union leaders from those labor organizations received an email from EPA\u2019s Office of Mission Support Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are receiving this email because you are a union point of contact or have reported the use of official time in the recent past,\u201d the email, obtained by Federal News Network, reads. \u201cEPA\u2019s contracts with AFGE, NAGE R4, NAGE Narraganset, ESC and NAIL are hereby terminated.\u201d<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n In the email, EPA told the union leaders that they are expected to \u201cperform 100% agency business while on agency duty time,\u201d and that work on behalf of the union would only be allowed outside scheduled work hours. The agency said it would not be approving any official time past Aug. 9, and that it would be reclaiming any office space that union members were using.<\/p>\n \u201cMore details on the reacquisition of space will come from local management officials,\u201d EPA wrote.<\/p>\n EPA also said effective immediately, grievance procedures under collective bargaining agreements are no longer in effect.<\/p>\n AFGE Local 238, which represents more than 8,000 EPA employees, blasted the agency\u2019s decision to cancel the contracts, calling it unlawful.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump administration and EPA\u2019s unlawful and authoritarian move to unilaterally strip EPA workers of their collective bargaining agreement and workplace rights is nothing short of an assault on our democracy, the rule of law, and the lives of working people in America,\u201d AFGE Council 238 President Justin Chen said in a statement Friday evening. \u201cAFGE Council 238 is united in our fight to defend our rights, our agency\u2019s mission, and to protect the future of our country and planet. We will see the administration in court.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEPA is working to diligently implement President Trump\u2019s executive orders with respect to AFGE, including \u2018Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs,\u2019 in compliance with the law,\u201d an EPA spokesperson said in a statement to Federal News Network.<\/p>\n The VA on Wednesday similarly said it was terminating<\/a> the vast majority of its contracts with federal unions, effectively ending collective bargaining for more than 370,000 federal employees. Roughly 4,000 VA employees\u00a0in police, firefighter and security positions are the only agency personnel who will maintain collective bargaining rights.<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n The union contract terminations come after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last week granted the Trump administration\u2019s request<\/a>\u00a0to stay a lower court\u2019s preliminary injunction. In effect, the appeals court decision allowed agencies to move forward with implementing President Donald Trump\u2019s March executive order<\/a>\u00a0to cancel union contracts at a majority of federal agencies.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s anti-union executive order from March sought to eliminate collective bargaining at most federal agencies. The order made use of a narrow legal provision that allows the President to suspend collective bargaining for national security reasons.<\/p>\n Federal unions quickly sued the Trump administration over the anti-union executive order. They maintain that Trump\u2019s order was a form of retaliation for the labor organizations\u2019 First Amendment protected speech. That claim was based, in part, on a White House fact sheet<\/a> that said Trump signed the order because unions were \u201chostile\u201d toward his policies.<\/p>\n The appeals court, however, determined that based on the language of the executive order<\/a> itself, the president likely would have terminated the union contracts anyway, even if the federal unions\u2019 constitutionally protected speech wasn\u2019t an issue.<\/p>\n If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email drew.friedman@federalnewsnetwork.com<\/a> or reach out on Signal at drewfriedman.11<\/strong><\/p>\n Copyright
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