Trump’s executive order limits FSIS, APHIS bargaining rights

President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order on March 27, 2025, excluding numerous federal agencies and subdivisions from coverage under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, ending collective bargaining with federal labor unions. He cited national security concerns.

The executive order expands upon Executive Order 12171, originally issued in 1979, which allowed for the exclusion of certain federal agencies engaged in intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work. The new directive determines that Chapter 71 of Title 5, U.S. Code, and Subchapter X of Chapter 52, Title 22, U.S. Code, cannot be applied to specified agencies and subdivisions in a manner consistent with national security needs.

Among the newly excluded agencies and subdivisions are the Food Safety and Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. 

The Departments of State, Defense, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and Justice, and specific components of the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, the Interior, Energy, Agriculture, and Commerce are also affected. Additionally, independent agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission are included in the exclusions.

The executive order also grants the secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs authority to issue orders suspending these exclusions for subdivisions within their departments, provided they certify that collective bargaining can be applied without compromising national security.

Similarly, the secretary of Transportation has been given authority to exclude subdivisions within the Department of Transportation, including the Federal Aviation Administration, from labor-management relations coverage when deemed necessary for national security and operational flexibility.

“In his executive order, he outlawed collective bargaining for more than a million federal workers, stripping them of their ability to negotiate fair wages, fair workplace treatment, and fair working hours. We have unions to thank for weekends and reasonable working hours, and for decades, they have stopped employers from taking advantage of working people,” said Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee.

“So it is no surprise that Donald Trump, who has spent his career cheating and stealing his way to success at the expense of his workers, is attacking the right to organize,” Martin added.

Implementation of the order will result in the reassignment of affected employees from union-related duties to agency work and the termination of ongoing grievance and arbitration proceedings involving these employees. Agencies must also review and report any additional subdivisions that should be considered for exclusion within 30 days.

The order states that its provisions should be implemented in accordance with applicable law and available funding. It does not create any enforceable rights for individuals against the U.S. government.

This directive marks a significant shift in federal labor policy, curtailing collective bargaining rights for thousands of federal employees across multiple agencies.