This past week, Judge Alan Albright – appointed by President Trump – handed down a powerful rebuke to the White House’s aggressive campaign against federal workers. He dismissed a lawsuit filed by eight agencies that attempted to invalidate collective bargaining agreements covering AFGE members and other union-represented federal employees.
The unprecedented lawsuits brought by the government against AFGE were framed around a national security executive order that seeks to remove bargaining rights from agencies like the EPA, USDA, and others. But Judge Albright ruled that the government lacked legal standing and overreached by seeking preemptive judicial approval for future contract violations—striking a major blow to the efforts to invalidate union contracts.
“We are very pleased that the courts have once again ultimately sided with public servants and AFGE and stopped another attack by this administration on the patriotic, dedicated Americans who serve their country in the federal government,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. “AFGE will never stop fighting to uphold our rights, our contracts, the rule of law, and the integrity of the people’s government.”
His remarks highlight not only the victory of this week’s ruling, but AFGE’s unyielding resolve to defend federal employees’ collective interests no matter how many legal assaults come our way.
The Bigger Picture
This is just the latest chapter in an escalating conflict. And the battle is far from over.
While we prevailed here, the administration continues to test the limits of executive power to unilaterally reshape the civil service away from an apolitical, merit-based system to a spoils system populated by people hired based on political loyalty instead of competence.
AFGE’s lawyers are still litigating the legality of the underlying executive order itself in federal court. Likewise, our lawsuit over the widespread RIFs being implemented across government agencies continues as well. However, the preliminary injunctions we received in both of those cases are currently stayed as of this writing.
What You Should Do Next
Bottom Line
Once more, the courts have halted an assault on federal collective bargaining agreements. AFGE remains relentless in defending our rights, contracts, and the integrity of the federal workforce. This win strengthens our resolve, but the fight is far from over.
Since taking office in January 2025, President Trump has issued a series of unlawful executive orders, and taken several unlawful actions, seeking to shut down congressionally mandated agencies, fire and displace federal workers, outlaw their unions, and gut merit systems protections.
Read More
A federal judge has ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs to reinstate the union contract covering 320,000 VA employees represented by AFGE in a major victory over the implementation of President Trump’s union-busting executive orders.
Read More
As the Department of Homeland Security shutdown reaches the one-month mark with no end in sight, AFGE leaders are calling on Congress to ensure all DHS workers are paid.
Read More
