The AFGE council representing 8,000 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency sued the agency and its Senate-confirmed leader last week over the unlawful termination of its contract.
The collective bargaining agreement (CBA), enacted in June 2024 and scheduled to run through June 2028, gave EPA workers critical rights and protections, including union representation and a process to challenge unfair discipline and other workplace actions. It also included a first-of-its-kind scientific integrity provision protecting employees who report suspected scientific misconduct or raise concerns about retaliation under EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin abruptly terminated the agreement on Aug. 8, 2025, breaking the law and stripping thousands of workers of protections that help them do their jobs, follow sound science, and speak up without fear of political interference or retaliation.
On Sept. 29, AFGE Council 238 and AFGE Local 3428, representing EPA employees in the Boston area, filed a lawsuit challenging the contract termination in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The lawsuit asks the court to restore the contract and its protections.
“This is exactly why our union exists. When EPA strips thousands of workers of their rights and protections, we will fight back,” AFGE Council 238 President Justin Chen said. “Our members should not have to choose between speaking up, following sound science, and protecting their careers. And the public should not have to wonder whether the EPA experts responsible for protecting their air and water are afraid to raise the alarm. We will keep fighting to restore our contract and defend our members’ right to protect the American people.”
The lawsuit comes after the EPA punished workers who spoke out about threats to the agency’s scientific mission. In June 2025, more than 100 Council 238-represented employees signed the Declaration of Dissent, raising concerns about political interference, the erosion of science-based decision-making and threats to public health. EPA ultimately disciplined 139 employees who signed the letter, firing 20 and suspending 119 without pay, according to the complaint. Of those disciplined, 110 were covered by the CBA.
Council 238 has repeatedly fought back on behalf of those workers. In July 2026, the union announced First Amendment lawsuits on behalf of seven fired members, building on earlier legal challenges to EPA’s treatment of workers who spoke out. Six former EPA employees also challenged their firings before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.
“EPA’s decision to revoke the union contract covering about 8,000 career civil servants at the agency is a disservice to employees and everyone who benefits from their work. Union contracts hold both employees and management accountable and foster communication and cooperation between management and rank-and-file employees to address and resolve workplace issues and improve the delivery of services,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said.
“The biologists, scientists, lab technicians, engineers, and other civil servants who work at the EPA must be able to do their job without political interference or fear of retribution for speaking out. I applaud EPA Council 238 for challenging the illegal termination of its contract and am confident that justice will prevail in the end.”
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