A federal judge could soon block the White House’s move to strip collective bargaining rights from hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman appeared skeptical during a hearing Wednesday of the administration’s arguments that a little-known provision in federal labor law allows it to exclude several agencies from unionization rights because their work is primarily focused on national security. Friedman said the White House’s determinations about the nature of the agencies’ work seem implausible.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order last month purporting to end union contracts and public workers’ rights to collectively bargain with the federal government over their job terms and conditions. But the order relied on the obscure provision to strip rights from workers at a slew of agencies that aren’t typically engaged in military defense, intelligence or diplomacy. Trump’s order covers the departments of Agriculture, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services, among other agencies.
Friedman, a Clinton appointee, added that Trump’s own words suggest that the true motivation was retaliation against groups that are uncooperative with his agenda, such as the National Treasury Employees Union, which sued over Trump’s order.
