Federal Judge Blocks Trump Order on Federal Worker Unions

A March executive order issued by the Trump administration faced temporary legal blockage which protected the collective bargaining capabilities of hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman made his ruling on Friday from Washington D.C. to stop the order while the NTEU lawsuit proceeds. Approximately 160,000 federal workers belong to the union which argues that the order contravenes both federal employment rights and constitutional legal safeguards.

Through this order, the government established an exception for agencies with fundamental duties of intelligence and national security work and investigative operations that could escape collective bargaining requirements. The executive order would have influenced about 75% of the 1 million unionized workers across six federal departments, including Justice, State, Defense, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services.

The decision earned applause from NTEU President Doreen Greenwald as she declared it brought victory to federal employees alongside their union rights and the services they extend towards the American people. The union presented evidence that none of these agencies performed significant service toward national security, so they believed this move to be a form of retribution against the labor unions, which sought to challenge the Trump administration policies legally.

Spokeswoman Anna Kelly spoke on behalf of the White House to declare the decision “absurd” before the administration moved to file an instant appeal. Animosity remains active among employees who work with national security capabilities and investigatory assets or intelligence operations since Kelly declared these personnel cannot form unions to impede presidential orders.

During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Friedman, who was appointed by Clinton, suggested the order displayed retaliatory tendencies because Trump shows willingness to others who work with him, while those who sue him receive unfavorable treatment.

The judge promised a detailed opinion explaining his decision would follow within days.