On March 27, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs — an aggressive move that seeks to eliminate collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees, including all of us at the Department of Veterans Affairs. That same day, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued formal guidance to all Heads and Acting Heads of Departments and Agencies, instructing them on how to implement the Executive Order.
This illegal Executive Order aims to unilaterally cancel our Master Agreement, terminate all pending grievances and arbitrations, and end official time — the very tool that allows us to represent and defend you in the workplace. In short, this administration wants to strip us of our rights and reduce us to at-will employees. It also directs agencies to eliminate payroll dues deduction, an act of union-busting designed to silence our voice.
Make no mistake: this is an outrageous abuse of power. The right to collectively bargain is guaranteed to us by law — Chapter 71 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code, passed by Congress in 1978. A president cannot overturn a statute passed by Congress with the stroke of a pen. While he is invoking a “national security” loophole in Chapter 71, there is absolutely no justification — no threat, no evidence, no reason — to suspend bargaining rights at VA or in the broader civilian workforce.
And the hypocrisy is glaring: if national security truly warranted stripping workers of their rights, why did Trump specifically exclude U.S. Border Patrol from this Executive Order? Our borders are central to any legitimate national security concern, and yet their bargaining rights were preserved. The reason is painfully clear: Border Patrol endorsed Trump, and this exclusion is nothing more than a political favor. That’s not national security — that’s corruption.
Even more absurd is the administration’s own contradiction. This Executive Order claims VA is too vital to national security to permit bargaining rights. Yet just weeks earlier, OPM and OMB issued a separate directive instructing agencies to conduct major reductions in force — and specifically excluded national security positions from those cuts. VA was not excluded. In fact, the VA Secretary is proposing to slash the workforce by 83,000 employees. So which is it? Is VA so essential to national security that we must lose our union — or so expendable that tens of thousands of us can be laid off? The truth is, this order has nothing to do with national security. It’s a political weapon aimed at neutralizing a powerful voice for working people. And we’re not buying it.
AFGE is fighting back. Our legal team will file for a temporary restraining order to block this Executive Order from taking effect. This is a legal battle we can win — and we’ve done it before. Just recently, Judge Alsup ruled in favor of federal workers, ordering the reinstatement of thousands of probationary employees who had been unlawfully fired.
In fact, Local 17 has already proven it can be done. During Trump’s first term, we were the only one of 170 VA locals to independently challenge a union-busting executive order at arbitration — and win. We beat the VA again at the Federal Labor Relations Authority when they tried to overturn the decision. That fight restored our official time, our union office space, and our access to government equipment and Outlook. When they came for our rights, we took them back.
We will also be holding a town hall this week to answer your questions, explain what happens next, and talk about how we fight this together. We’ll send out the time and date shortly.
What you can do
If you haven’t already, we urge you to switch to E-Dues immediately. Agencies will soon stop withholding dues from your paycheck, and E-Dues is the only way to stay connected and protected.
We also want to let you know that this Saturday, April 5, tens of thousands of people will rally here in Washington, D.C., and across the country in what organizers are calling the largest single day of protest since Trump took office for his second term. The nationwide rally — called “Hands Off” — is a powerful, coordinated response to Trump’s attacks on civil service protections, collective bargaining, healthcare, Social Security, education, and civil rights. The flagship event is happening right here at the Washington Monument, starting at noon. If you’re able to join, it’s a powerful opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with others who are demanding a government that works for the people.
Donald Trump is attacking us because he fears the strength of our union and the role we play in defending the federal government from being dismantled. He’s targeting your rights, your voice, and your job security. We will not stand down.
We are AFGE. We are Local 17. And we will fight this — together.
