In a major victory for federal workers, on Nov. 14 D.C. federal judge Paul Friedman granted a preliminary injunction finding that the cancellation of collective bargaining rights at United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) was unconstitutional retaliation against American Federation of State County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and AFGE in violation of the First Amendment and was an unlawful exercise of authority.
Judge Friedman’s oral opinion delivered in open court was against the President, the USAGM (the agency that houses Voice of America), and USAGM Acting CEO Kari Lake. The ruling is a result of a lawsuit filed by AFSCME, AFGE, the Voice of America Employees Union, AFSCME Local 1418, and AFGE Local 1812 against the Trump administration’s August 28 executive order stripping USAGM and VOA workers of their voice on the job.
Thanks to the ruling, the cancelation of USAGM workers’ collective bargaining freedoms has been blocked. In the ruling, the judge affirmed that the executive order was a clear effort to retaliate against the unions representing USAGM workers and violated the First Amendment.
The judge found that the enjoined August 28 order was directly connected to the President’s earlier March Executive Order terminating collective bargaining rights at a wide range of federal agencies, which was accompanied by a Fact Sheet that the judge described as in effect threatening the following: “Unions that supported him, they’ll be fine, but other unions, not so much.”
Despite the President’s March threat, the judge observed, the plaintiff unions “kept fighting,.” in particular through litigation and advocacy challenging the administration’s efforts to dismantle Voice of America and stifle its independent, pro-democracy journalism. The judge found that the subsequent actions taken against AFSCME and AFGE and their affiliated local unions at USAGM were “clearly retaliatory,” and represented a pattern of First Amendment retaliation by this administration. The judge concluded his oral opinion by finding it was “in the public interest” to restore labor protections to USAGM employees because Voice of America is “a voice of democracy.”
“The administration’s attacks on Voice of America and USAGM workers were plainly illegal and retaliatory,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. “The Court’s finding that the administration once again violated our members’ constitutional rights, including their First Amendment rights, highlights exactly why unions matter. We’re proud to stand with AFSCME as we continue fighting for collective bargaining and safeguarding the fundamental freedoms all Americans rely on.”
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