Trump administration files lawsuit to terminate certain union contracts of federal employees
The lawsuit was filed following Trump's issuance of an executive order aimed at eliminating the unionization rights of the majority of federal workers.
TroibNews 
The Trump administration has initiated a lawsuit against the largest federal worker union, aiming to invalidate existing collective employment contracts between government employees and agencies, arguing that these contracts obstruct White House objectives.
The unprecedented lawsuit was filed late Thursday, soon after President Donald Trump issued an executive order designed to curtail unionization rights for a majority of the federal workforce.
The administration has requested U.S. District Judge Alan Albright, a Trump appointee in Waco, Texas, to grant agencies the authority to “rescind or repudiate” certain collective bargaining agreements with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), citing that these agreements “significantly constrain the Executive Branch” in its efforts to streamline the federal workforce and gain greater control over agency functions.
The complaint, involving agencies such as the departments of Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration, alleges that the AFGE entered into “midnight” agreements with President Joe Biden’s administration that impose restrictions on “return-to-work policies” and other provisions that unduly limit executive branch flexibility.
The agencies argued in the complaint that the “President and his senior Executive Branch officials cannot afford to be obstructed by CBAs that micromanage oversight of the federal workforce and impede performance accountability.”
For decades, a significant portion of the federal workforce has been unionized. According to 2024 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 32 percent of public sector workers are union members, a rate that exceeds private sector employees by more than five times. Unlike unions in the private sector, federal employee unions lack the ability to negotiate over salaries, benefits, or hiring and firing practices.
The lawsuit lists numerous small unions that represent subgroups of federal workers sharing similar job classifications and characteristics, along with a collective employment contract with the government. This includes unions representing employees at HUD, military medical service workers at the Defense Health Agency, and some staff at Lackland Air Force Base.
The Trump administration seeks a reinterpretation of federal law from Albright that would enable agencies to revoke union contracts, without asserting any specific legal violations on the unions’ part. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, where all civil cases are overseen by Albright.
Albright has previously faced public scrutiny for facilitating what some have termed “judge shopping.” His court accounted for over 19 percent of all patent cases nationwide in 2020, following his encouragement for patent attorneys to file infringement claims in his courtroom. The issue was highlighted by Chief Justice John Roberts in the Supreme Court’s 2022 annual report.
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
The unprecedented lawsuit was filed late Thursday, soon after President Donald Trump issued an executive order designed to curtail unionization rights for a majority of the federal workforce.
The administration has requested U.S. District Judge Alan Albright, a Trump appointee in Waco, Texas, to grant agencies the authority to “rescind or repudiate” certain collective bargaining agreements with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), citing that these agreements “significantly constrain the Executive Branch” in its efforts to streamline the federal workforce and gain greater control over agency functions.
The complaint, involving agencies such as the departments of Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration, alleges that the AFGE entered into “midnight” agreements with President Joe Biden’s administration that impose restrictions on “return-to-work policies” and other provisions that unduly limit executive branch flexibility.
The agencies argued in the complaint that the “President and his senior Executive Branch officials cannot afford to be obstructed by CBAs that micromanage oversight of the federal workforce and impede performance accountability.”
For decades, a significant portion of the federal workforce has been unionized. According to 2024 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 32 percent of public sector workers are union members, a rate that exceeds private sector employees by more than five times. Unlike unions in the private sector, federal employee unions lack the ability to negotiate over salaries, benefits, or hiring and firing practices.
The lawsuit lists numerous small unions that represent subgroups of federal workers sharing similar job classifications and characteristics, along with a collective employment contract with the government. This includes unions representing employees at HUD, military medical service workers at the Defense Health Agency, and some staff at Lackland Air Force Base.
The Trump administration seeks a reinterpretation of federal law from Albright that would enable agencies to revoke union contracts, without asserting any specific legal violations on the unions’ part. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, where all civil cases are overseen by Albright.
Albright has previously faced public scrutiny for facilitating what some have termed “judge shopping.” His court accounted for over 19 percent of all patent cases nationwide in 2020, following his encouragement for patent attorneys to file infringement claims in his courtroom. The issue was highlighted by Chief Justice John Roberts in the Supreme Court’s 2022 annual report.
Sophie Wagner for TROIB News
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