Appeals court allows Trump to kick unions out of federal agencies

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

A federal appeals court will allow the Trump administration to end collective bargaining rights for thousands of government employees, in a blow for public-sector unions.

The Ninth Circuit panel’s decision allows the administration to proceed with an executive order that allows some federal agencies to cut union ties for national security reasons.

Six unions representing about 800,000 federal civilian employees sued the administration last year, alleging violations of the First Amendment. A lower court previously found that President Donald Trump’s order was designed to retaliate against unions. However, the Ninth Circuit panel ended that preliminary injunction.

The panel noted that Trump’s executive order, issued in March 2025, was “the largest single effort to date to exclude agencies and subdivisions from collective bargaining on national security grounds.”

The three judges considered only whether the lower court’s injunction should remain in place while the case continues. The panel did not determine if the Trump administration overstepped its legal authority.

“Today’s ruling is not a final decision on the legality of this Executive Order,” said Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees. “The court addressed only whether a preliminary injunction should remain in place while litigation continues. This case is not over. The merits of this case are still very much alive.”

Kelley said the unions are considering options and would “continue to build our case and pursue every legal avenue available.”

Some agencies had already moved ahead with plans to eliminate collective bargaining. For example, the Department of Veterans Affairs cancelled its contracts with most unions in August 2025. VA Secretary Doug Collins said the unions were working against veterans’ best interests.

VA officials said in 2024, more than 1,900 VA bargaining-unit employees worked more than 750,000 hours on taxpayer-funded union time.

“With no collective bargaining obligations, those hours can now be used to serve veterans instead of union bosses,” the agency said.

It also frees up space. Union representatives are currently using more than 187,000 square feet of VA’s office and clinical space.

“This has cost VA millions of dollars in lost rent and expenses for union bosses’ government phones and computer equipment,” the agency said.