OPM directs agencies to move forward with ending collective bargaining

The Trump administration is telling most agencies to proceed with terminating their collective bargaining agreements and derecognizing their federal unions in response to a pair of 2025 executive orders, despite ongoing litigation.

In a memo issued Thursday, Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor advised all agencies covered by President Donald Trump’s orders to move forward with either amending or fully canceling their collective bargaining agreements. The president’s orders last year directed a majority of agencies to cancel their union contracts, citing “national security” concerns.

“For various reasons, including litigation, implementation of these executive orders at certain agencies and agency subdivisions has been delayed,” Kupor wrote in the Feb. 12 memo. “[OPM] now advises agencies and agency subdivisions covered by [the orders] that they should proceed to terminate or modify collective bargaining agreements.”

The OPM memo tells agencies to notify their federal unions that the agreements are being terminated. It adds, though, that federal employees and agencies not covered by the two executive orders can continue collective bargaining procedures as normal.

Trump’s initial executive order in March 2025 invoked a narrow, rarely used portion of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act that allows a president to suspend collective bargaining for national security purposes.

In August, a second executive order from the president added more agencies and agency components to the already extensive list of federal entities slated for collective bargaining cancellations.

For months, Trump’s orders were suspended by a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocked agencies from moving forward with the contract cancellations. An appeals court in August granted the Trump administration’s request to stay the injunction. Some, but not all, agencies subsequently moved forward with terminating their collective bargaining agreements.

Federal unions including the American Federation of Government Employees are suing the Trump administration over the orders. The union alleges that they are a form of retaliation against those who had exercised their First Amendment rights in speaking out against the administration’s actions.

“OPM’s new guidance further demonstrates the retaliatory and unlawful nature of the Trump administration’s unprecedented attacks on collective bargaining,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said. “AFGE will continue to challenge this administration’s illegal actions until employee and union rights within the federal government are restored.”

Governmentwide, bargaining unit eligibility has already significantly declined over the last year, according to OPM’s federal workforce data. As of December 2025, 38% of the federal workforce is in a bargaining unit, while more than half of federal employees are now ineligible for union representation.

The OPM data, updated through December 2025, marks a sharp reversal from earlier last year when about 30% of employees were ineligible, and about 56% were in a bargaining unit. A smaller portion of the federal workforce is technically eligible for a bargaining unit, but not officially in one.

In the Feb. 12 memo, OPM included a template that agencies are required to fill out on the first day of each month, providing updates on their progress with union contract cancellations. OPM said it expects agencies to continue sharing monthly updates “until all termination notices are executed and reported.”

An additional “frequently asked questions” document that OPM updated Thursday details various changes agencies should make to comply with Trump’s orders revoking collective bargaining.

The guidance, for one, tells agencies to revise federal employees’ personnel files to reflect that they are no longer in a bargaining unit. It also directs agencies to cancel ongoing arbitration proceedings and unfair labor practice (ULP) charges in cases where collective bargaining is being rescinded. OPM said agencies are also allowed to “disregard” union grievances for bargaining units or federal employees that the president has deemed no longer eligible for collective bargaining.

Additionally, OPM said agencies should “withdraw” from ongoing union negotiations in cases where collective bargaining is being canceled. Impacted agencies should reclaim office space and resources that were being used for official time, OPM added.

In Congress, some lawmakers are attempting to restore collective bargaining for all federal employees, through legislation that would rescind both of Trump’s executive orders. After the House passed the Protect America’s Workforce Act in December, federal unions have been pushing the Senate to take up the bill’s companion legislation.

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