Weekly Union Recap May 19, 2025

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IFPTE Federal Sector Round Up on Trump/Musk and
DOGE Attacks on Federal Workers

This week the Republican led House of Representatives continued moving through proposed huge cuts to taxpayer funded services that fall under respective committee jurisdiction.   These cuts, which include a $715 billion cut to Medicaid and another $300 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), come on the heels of cuts to federal employee pensions approved by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee two weeks ago. As a reminder, the Oversight Committee approved cuts impacting federal workers are:

  • Raising the FERS retirement contribution rate for all federal and postal employees to 4.4% of their salary.
  • Eliminating the FERS supplement payment for federal employees retiring before age 62 (federal occupations with retirement required before age 62 are exempted).
  • Basing a federal retiree’s annuity payment on their average highest five earning years, instead of the current highest three earning years.  
  • Forcing new federal employee hires to be “at will” employees without merit system protections or choose to maintain merit system protections and pay an additional 5% FERS contribution rate, totaling 9.4% of pay, which is effectively a 5% pay cut.
  • Charging a $350 fee for federal employees to gain access to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

It is worth reminding IFPTE’s membership, federal and non-federal alike, that these draconian and damaging cuts moving through the House of Representatives are intended to be included in a budget reconciliation bill that, as of now, Speaker Mike Johnson says will be before the full house next week – the week of May 19th. In other words, Speaker Johnson, the overall House Republican leadership and majority, and the Trump Administration are attempting to force through a budget reconciliation bill that proposes for federal workers, Veterans, seniors and the disabled that are Medicaid recipients, and food stamp and free and reduced lunch program students and recipients to pay for making permanent the Trump tax cuts that overwhelmingly go to billionaires and corporations. Robin Hood in reverse is unfortunately alive and well in the United States House of Representatives. IFPTE will continue to work against these efforts as this continues to move through the House, and eventually over to the Senate.  

IFPTE was also on Capitol Hill this week participating on panels and meeting with staff and lawmakers. IFPTE’s legislative director Faraz Khan participated in a Congressional Labor Caucus Federal Employee Working Group briefing this week, providing lawmakers with the latest developments on union litigation efforts against the Trump EOs and firings, and a discussion of labor’s legislative requests to help block and mitigate the anti-federal worker policies of the Trump Administration. Meanwhile, IFPTE President Matt Biggs participated in a Democratic Member Roundtable on Oversight Reconciliation Provisions aimed at increasing pension contributions of federal workers without any corresponding pension benefit increase – i.e., a pay cut for federal workers.   The roundtable was organized by Representatives Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and was intended to help House members and staff better understand the gravity of the efforts of the House to cut federal employee pensions and benefits to help fund the Trump tax cut.   And, of course IFPTE continues work with Congressional offices to gain cosponsors for HR 2550, bipartisan legislation overturning Trump’s latest Executive Order aimed at eliminating collective bargaining rights for some 1 million federal workers and eliminating union payroll dues deduction. The bipartisan cosponsor list has reached 221 this week, and the labor movement, including IFPTE, are pushing for a discharge petition to get the bill to the House floor. More on that below…

Additionally, two Fridays ago, President Trump reached deep into the Legislative Branch of government and took the unprecedented step of firing the head of the Library of Congress.   Given that the Republican majority has already all but handed over their Article I responsibilities of making law and appropriating and spending money over to President Trump, this only adds to what increasingly looks like a Bonafide constitutional crisis. Congress, regardless of who controls it and regardless of who sits in the White House, has never handed over their co-equal branch of government constitutional responsibilities to the Executive – until now.   This latest action of firing the head of a Legislative Branch agency raises serious concerns and begs the question: How far will the Trump Administration go intervening into the Legislative Branch, and will the Republican led Congress allow it? IFPTE will continue to monitor this situation and work against it.

Finally, this was a historic week at IFPTE, as it marked the week that the first group of IFPTE members signed up for the EDues program. Of course, this became necessary because of President Trump’s Executive Order eliminating union dues payroll deduction across most federal agencies. We again thank all of the Locals across the IFPTE family that stepped up to support IFPTE’s federal sector by contributing to the set up cost of the EDues system. THANK YOU is again in order to Locals 1, 20, 21, 70, 160, 162, 194, 195, 1921 and 2001 for your generous contributions to the EDues program!

Legislative: 

  1. Good news – The Protect America’s Workers Act (HR 2550) introduced last month by Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and Democratic Rep. Jared Golden to repeal the Trump Executive Order (EO) eliminating collective bargaining rights for 1.5 million federal workers, now has 221 cosponsors, representing more than 50% of the House of Representatives.   This means that IFPTE and labor can now pivot to working to get these cosponsors to sign a discharge petition to force a full vote of the House of Representatives. A discharge petition is needed because despite the overwhelming support for the legislation, House Speaker Mike Johnson will not schedule the bill for consideration. See IFPTE’s letter supporting the House bill.
  2. Legislative Director Faraz Khan continues to work with key Senators to procure a similar bill to the Fitzpatrick-Golden bill in the Senate, and IFPTE anticipates a bill to be introduced in the coming days, with Virginia Senator Mark Warner expected to author the Senate version of the bill. Please continue to Call your Congressional Representative and ask them to cosponor the bipartisan Protect America’s Workforce Act
  3. Tell Congress: Hands Off Federal Employees’ Retirement Benefits and Merit System Protections. As stipulated above, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted in late April to cut $51 billion over the next ten years from the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) and make other changes that undermine our nonpartisan civil service. Congress will be considering passing these spending cuts in a budget reconciliation bill that will include between $1.5 to $2 trillion in spending cuts to offset a portion of $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations (the $2.5 to 3 billion in tax cuts that aren’t offset will result in a significant increase to the federal deficit). Slashing retirement benefits and reducing the take-home pay of federal workers will trigger an exodus of experienced and skilled federal workers and hollow out agencies that provide essential services and functions. Congress needs to hear from everyday Americans that lawmakers should be preserving the government’s ability to recruit and retain the best talent America has to offer to address the challenges our nation faces, support our national security and economic prosperity, provide the American people with high-quality services, and keep our communities safe. Even though the House Oversight Committee passed these cuts this week, it is not too late to weigh-in. This fight is far from over. Email Your Representative and Senators and urge them to oppose any cuts to federal employees’ retirement benefits, any reductions to take-home pay, and any effort to force newly hired federal employees to choose between pay and civil service protections. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-hands-off-federal-employees-retirement-benefits-and-merit-system-protections/
  4. IFPTE continues to ask lawmakers to cosponsor HR 3093, The “Restoring Employment and Hiring Incentives for Removed Employees Act” or REHIRE Act to rebuild the federal workforce by providing a hiring preference for federal workers who were fired or otherwise involuntarily removed during the Trump Administration, and; HR 3094, the ‘‘Probationary Reduction for Employee Protections Act’’ or PREP Act would clarify that federal employees who are new to the competitive service have a 1-year probationary period, and employees who are moving to a new competitive service position from another position will have a 6-month probationary period. Both bills are authored by Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) and IFPTE is encouraging Locals to also urge their House members to cosponsor these bills.

Legal:

The May 7th injunction on the Trump union busting EO in the NTEU lawsuit remains in place. While IFPTE’s and the larger labor movement’s analysis that the Judge’s ruling on the injunction makes clear that all federal agencies are covered, government attorneys attempting to protect the Trump union-busting agenda argue otherwise. We also continue to monitor the AFGE case in the Northern District of California, which has a longer briefing schedule that continues through this summer.

1. Judge issues two-week temporary restraining order (TRO) pausing RIFs at many government agencies, including EPA and SSA – On Friday , May 9, 2025, Judge Illston in the Northern District of California issued a two-week temporary restraining order, pausing implementation of Executive Order 14210 and agency-level Reduction-in-Force (RIF) activity across dozens of federal agencies.  The case was brought by unions and nonprofit plaintiffs against the Trump administration based upon “fundamental questions of executive authority and separation of powers.” 

The Court found plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claims that Executive Order 14210 and the related agency directives are unlawful and exceed executive authority under both the APA and the Constitution.  The judge found that Plaintiffs demonstrated imminent, irreparable harm, as RIFs were set to begin as early as May 18, also emphasizing the importance of preserving Congressional authority over agency functions and finding that the public interest favored maintaining the status quo.  The TRO affects a wide range of agencies, including HHS, HUD, DOL, VA, SBA, SSA, and AmeriCorps. The ruling was issued following the submission of over 1,000 pages of declarations from unions, nonprofits, and local governments.  In granting its temporary restraining order, the court noted several times that “the President may not, without Congress, fundamentally reorganize the federal agencies.”

The restraining order applies to the following agencies:  OMB, OPM, DOGE, USDA, Commerce, Energy, HHS, HUD, Interior, Labor, State, Treasury, Transportation, VA, AmeriCorps, EPA, GSA, NLRB, NSF, SBA, and SSA and their efforts to implement or enforce sections 3(c) and 3(e) of Executive Order 14210 or the February 26, 2025 OMB/OPM Memorandum.  The court further ordered discovery of Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans (ARRPs) due May 13, 2025.  Plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction is due May 14, 2025 and a  preliminary injunction (PI) hearing will be held in person on Thursday, May 22, 2025 at 10:30 a.m PDT.  Here is a copy of the ruling, and a link to a GovExec article. 

While this ruling does cover EPA and SSA, where IFPTE members work, it does not cover other federal agencies where IFPTE members are employed, including DOD. 

2. IFPTE is a co-plaintiff in a RIF case in D.C. District Court covering all of our locals, including DOD. As we previously informed you, plaintiffs’ requests for a TRO and PI were rejected by the court. This case is still pending on the merits; the government filed a motion to dismiss on May 15.     Here is the amended complaint.  We will keep Locals updated as this litigation continues.

3. NTEU case against EO 14251 – On April 28, the D.C. District Court issued an opinion to accompany its April 25 order issuing a preliminary injunction against Executive Order 14251. This EO attempts to strip collective bargaining rights from the vast majority of the federal workforce under the pretext of a statutory national security exemption. The court specifically noted in its opinion that the union challenged the entire Executive Order EO, stating that the lack of evidence of any impact on national security correspondingly warrants “enjoining Section 2 of the Executive Order in its entirety” [emphasis added]. NTEU v. Trump, Case No. 1:25-cv-935 (D.D.C.), Dkt. 34 at 44-45.” This means that the administration is prevented from implementing the order at all, including in agencies like the Department of Defense and Social Security Administration, where IFPTE represents tens of thousands of workers. We note that the injunction has been appealed to the D.C. Circuit, and that we do expect the merits of the case to eventually reach the Supreme Court.   See the NTEU lawsuit here.

4. More lawsuits to come – As part of the overall litigation strategy, IFPTE is part of a coalition of unions joining together to file an additional lawsuit against the Executive Order in a venue to be determined. We thank those locals that have already provided information to our Legal Department and ask that local leaders continue to do so as we prepare.   Please contact IFPTE General Counsel Teresa Ellis at tellis@ifpte.org with any pertinent information regarding specific impacts from the imposition of the EO.

5. IFPTE RIF guidance to Locals – Please see the March 11 memo from IFPTE GC, Teresa Ellis, and Greg McGillivary of McGillivary Steele Elkin regarding Reductions-In-Force (RIFs) and Mass Terminations of Federal Employees. OPM, OMB and DOGE mandated that federal agencies produce RIF lists by April 14.   RIF guidance memo here.

  • See the February 26th OPM memo instructing agencies to largely ignore RIF language in union negotiated CBA’s and calling on agencies to identify positions to RIF by April 14.  IFPTE recommends that Locals file grievances if management refuses to abide negotiated RIF language in their respective CBAs. 

6. Legal support for federal workers – Rise Up, Fight Back – Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have had their basic rights violated on the job—including tens of thousands who have been fired illegally. Federal workers have an urgent need for legal support. Federal workers now have a network of lawyers helping to get them the justice they deserve.  See the GovExec article here.

7. Status of all lawsuits against the current administration can be found at  Just Security: [url1005.email.actionnetwork.org] “Litigation Tracker:  Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.”

Grassroots

  1. “Civil Service Strong” coalition – IFPTE is proud to announce our partnership with the Civil Service Strong project of Democracy Forward, along with other unions, to support our members who are civil servants under attack by the Trump administration. Alongside the 95% of people who believe civil servants should be hired and promoted based on their merit rather than their political beliefs, Civil Service Strong is committed to supporting a career, non-partisan civil service and the people who power it. Learn more here.
  2. MAKE A CALL – Restore Federal Employee Rights Now – IFPTE joins the AFL-CIO campaign asking every single American who cares about the fundamental freedom of all workers to join a union to call their member of Congress right now. Fill out the form on the right to receive a call or dial 844-896-5059. Learn more here.
  3. IFPTE Members are telling their Congressional lawmakers: “Hands Off Federal Employees’ Retirement Benefits and Merit System Protection” – Don’t allow millionaires and billionaires in Congress and the White House use federal employees as a cost offset for budget reconciliation legislation. Learn more here… https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-hands-off-federal-employees-retirement-benefits-and-merit-system-protections/

Public Relations and Communications

Last week’s newsclips featured an in-depth interview with IFPTE President Matt Biggs.  Coming up this week, a special “Legal Edition” of the clips will update readers on key cases, court decisions and Congressional actions related to the ongoing assault on our legal system and erosion of due process.  

  1. America’s Workforce Podcast – IFPTE President Matt Biggs, called the Trump Administration’s and the Republic led Congress’ plans to gut Medicaid and Federal Employee pensions and use those funds to pay for the Trump tax cut for billionaires, “outrageous and deplorable.” Hear it here at the 38:30 mark [url1005.email.actionnetwork.org].

To sign up for clips, please fill out this form: https://www.ifpte.org/federal-news-clips

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