FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 08, 2025
December 08, 2025
Contact:
Brittany Holder
(202) 737-8700
[email protected]
AFGE Calls for NO Vote on House NDAA Rule After Congressional Leaders Strip Collective Bargaining Protections
Largest federal employee union urges Congress to Vote "NO" on House Rule to protect union rights for DoD civilian employees
WASHINGTON – The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the nation’s largest federal employee union, is urging all members of Congress to vote NO on the House NDAA rule after conference negotiators removed Section 1110, the bipartisan House provision that would have restored collective bargaining rights for the Department of Defense’s civilian workforce.
Section 1110 would have prevented the Department from using FY2026 funds to enforce an executive order that strips collective bargaining rights from hundreds of thousands of DoD civilians. Its removal means the conference bill fails to protect the basic workplace rights of the very employees who maintain our ships and aircraft, safeguard our bases, support our servicemembers, and strengthen the readiness of the force every single day.
“Congress should not be in the business of weakening national security by weakening the workforce that makes national security possible,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. “DoD civilians are patriots. They serve this country with skill, honor, and sacrifice. Denying them collective bargaining rights is wrong, it is harmful to the mission, and it has no place in a defense bill."
"If lawmakers are serious about supporting our military, they must send this bill back to conference, fix it, restore these protections, and then pass an NDAA worthy of the men and women who defend this nation every day,” Kelley continued.
AFGE has consistently warned that undermining the rights of DoD civilian employees will make it harder to recruit and retain the highly skilled workforce that national defense depends on. Preserving their right to collectively bargain is not only a matter of fairness—it is essential to maintaining the efficiency, morale, and stability required to carry out critical defense missions.
AFGE is calling on Congress to reject the rule for the current conference agreement, direct negotiators to restore Section 1110, and advance a final NDAA that protects both America’s national security and the workers who uphold it.
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