SAN FRANCISCO – AFSCME and other labor unions are suing the administration over a recent executive order that seeks to strip more than 1 million federal government employees of their collective bargaining rights.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, says the executive order is a retaliatory attempt to punish federal worker unions that have been engaging in constitutionally protected speech.
Unions have repeatedly scored court victories after suing in opposition to actions taken by this administration. The new lawsuit claims the executive order is an act of retaliation against the unions for pushing back in court and in the media against the administration’s agenda to decimate the federal workforce and restructure the federal government through expansive and unprecedented exercises of executive authority.
The lawsuit cites a White House fact sheet that specifically referenced a statement made by the lead plaintiff, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents more than 820,000 federal employees.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that the administration overbroadly applied the national security exemption to eliminate collective bargaining rights for over 1 million workers whose primary functions are not related to national security. Those employees work at agencies and departments like the Department of Veterans Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, Food Safety and Inspection Service, and several others.
Other plaintiffs joining AFGE in the lawsuit are AFSCME, the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE-SEIU), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), National Nurses United (NNU), and Service Employees International Union (SEIU). These unions collectively represent more than 950,000 federal employees.
“Federal workers and all AFSCME members have been making their voices heard in court and on the streets to protect public services and their jobs. They won’t let billionaires raid our communities without consequence — and that’s why they’re facing retaliation," said AFSCME President Lee Saunders.
"The extremists in this administration have made their contempt for public service workers clear and know that stripping collective bargaining rights means stripping away their power,” Saunders added. “We are filing this lawsuit to stop this illegal effort to silence those who speak out and protect free speech for all working people.”