The administration has stated that the court did not have the jurisdiction to evaluate the president’s policies.
A federal judge has barred the Trump administration from putting into effect its policy intended to terminate collective bargaining agreements with employees across specific federal departments and agencies.
On April 25, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman approved a union’s request for a preliminary injunction, blocking an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March, along with a corresponding guidance document from the Office of Personnel Management.
Friedman indicated that the court would issue a ruling in the coming days.
Trump’s
order specified a comprehensive list of agencies he claimed should be exempt from collective bargaining agreements due to their involvement in national security and other related operations. These agencies included the Department of State, the Department of Treasury, the Food and Drug Administration, and the General Services Administration.
In its
lawsuit filed on March 31, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) contended that Trump was erroneously applying a narrowly defined exception granted by Congress regarding collective bargaining rights.
The lawsuit stated, “The Administration’s own documents demonstrate that the President’s exclusions are not motivated by national security concerns, but rather by a policy goal of making federal employees easier to terminate and a political bias against federal sector unions.”
The administration articulated several arguments against the NTEU’s preliminary injunction request. On April 11, it asserted in a
legal filing that the court lacked the authority to assess the president’s national security determinations, emphasizing that Trump’s “discretion in this matter is well-supported by the facts and the law.”
The administration claimed that the applicable law—the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute—created a framework through which such disputes should be processed.
It argued that obstructing the administration’s actions would “disrupt and frustrate the President’s judgment on addressing national security issues, which traditionally receive deference from the courts.”
The guidance from the Office of Personnel Management indicated that “enhancing accountability within the Federal workforce is a top priority for President Trump and his Administration.”
“The President believes in his obligation to effectively supervise Federal employees to ensure that the law is applied faithfully and to safeguard America’s national security,” it
further stated.
In a
statement, Doreen Greenwald, the president of the union, expressed support for the preliminary injunction issued by Friedman in Washington.
“Today’s ruling is a triumph for federal employees, their union rights, and the American citizens they serve,” Greenwald commented. “The preliminary injunction granted at NTEU’s request ensures that the collective bargaining rights of federal employees will be preserved, blocking the administration’s illegal efforts to undermine the voices of federal employees and dismantle unions.”
Friedman’s ruling represents the most recent development in a series of lawsuits filed by the NTEU and other unions, challenging various employment and agency-related actions during Trump’s second term. Another NTEU
lawsuit, initiated in January, contested Trump’s order that simplified the process for terminating certain federal employees.
Since taking office, Trump has proposed buyouts for federal employees and attempted to phase out large numbers of probationary employees as part of his strategy to reduce the size of the federal workforce and control expenditures. In an
order issued on April 8, the Supreme Court blocked a lower court ruling that mandated the administration to reinstate thousands of probationary employees.
The court indicated that the lower court’s ruling stemmed from allegations by nonprofit organizations that lacked standing. “This order does not address the claims of other plaintiffs, which were not the basis for the District Court’s preliminary injunction,” the unsigned order from the court
noted.
