FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2026
October 16, 2026
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-374-6491
[email protected]
AFGE Celebrates as Judge Again Orders Bureau of Prisons to Reinstate Union Contract
Categories:
BOP
Ruling grants union’s motion to enforce preliminary injunction
WASHINGTON – A federal judge has again ordered the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to reinstate the American Federation of Government Employees’ union contract protecting 30,000 federal correctional officers and staff.
On Sept. 29, U.S. District Judge Vernon Oliver of the District of Connecticut granted the union a preliminary injunction setting aside the BOP’s September 2025 termination of its collective bargaining agreement with the union. The court ordered the agency to immediately reinstate the union’s contract. The court’s order was in response to the lawsuit filed in November 2025 by AFGE’s National Council of Prison Locals (Council 33) and AFGE Local 1661, which represents employees at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut.
On Oct. 7, Director Marshall issued a memorandum announcing he was again terminating the contract effective immediately. The Union promptly filed a motion challenging the BOP’s compliance with the injunction. In a ruling issued today, the court said that BOP could not simply ignore the preliminary injunction nor could BOP engage in self-help or use an allegedly new rationale to unilaterally defy the injunction. The court therefore found BOP’s retermination to be void.
Council 33 National President Brandy Moore White applauded the court for ordering BOP to again reinstate the contract.
“The employees we represent work in some of the most challenging and dangerous conditions in federal service, and their union contract gives them a collaborative way to speak out when their safety or the safety of the public is in jeopardy,” White said. “Our members deserve nothing less than full compliance with the court’s decision, and we will keep fighting for our members to ensure the safety and security of the workers we represent.”
AFGE National President Everett Kelley echoed White’s comments.
“This administration should be ashamed of itself for flouting the rule of law inside our own federal prisons just to silence the voices of the brave correctional officers who work every day in some of the most challenging environments in the country,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said. “AFGE will continue fighting for our members at the Bureau of Prisons and every other agency until union rights are restored for all federal employees.”
Written by OPEIU 2 AFL-CIO
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