IFPTE Federal Sector Update on
Trump Administration Attacks on Federal Workers
After the long weekend some lawmakers came back to Washington, DC last week in the event an agreement would have been reached to end the government shutdown, which, as of Monday, October 20 is now in its 20th day. Many Democratic House lawmakers returned to Congress while the Republican majority, at the request of House Speaker Mike Johnson, did not show up for work. Speaker Johnson has canceled all votes and hearings in the House of Representatives for the upcoming week, leaving the House out of session for over a month now.
Meanwhile, federal workers, including tens of thousands of IFPTE members, are going without paychecks, all while the Trump Administration, led by Project 2025 architect and head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russ Vought, continues to not only threaten to illegally fire federal workers, but actually implement the firings. As IFPTE said previously, these firings are, “unprecedented, illegal, and immoral.”
As we enter this third week of the shutdown, IFPTE felt it necessary to weigh in again with Congress to further reinforce our insistence that Congressional leadership, and the Trump Administration, come to a bipartisan solution to end the shutdown. We did so by sending a letter to Congress reiterating our stance that any final agreement must prevent the Trump Administration from continuing to impound congressionally-approved spending monies, which is yet another unprecedented and illegal action currently being undertaken by the administration. IFPTE’s letter specifically called for “a bipartisan solution to this shutdown that funds the priorities and programs relied upon by the public, including those provided by IFPTE members, while ensuring that said spending levels are protected against an administration that has already proven that they will ignore congressional spending directives.” IFPTE also urged lawmakers to include a reversal of the firings currently being illegally implemented by Mr. Vought.
Last week, IFPTE President Matt Biggs joined leaders from AFGE, NFFE and NTEU at the Capitol for a meeting with House Labor Caucus Leaders, Representatives Donald Norcross (NJ), Debbie Dingle (MI), and Steven Horsford (NV), and House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries (NY), to discuss the ongoing shutdown. Among the highlights of the discussions was the unanimous position across all the Unions that Congress must come together in bipartisan fashion to end this destructive shutdown. In particular, each union pointed to the hardships being faced not only by their members but by the two million federal civil servants across the nation and the world. Both Leader Jeffries and the members of the House Labor Caucus reinforced their appreciation and support for federal employees, and vowed that they would fight to ensure that everyone gets paid (which is the law of the land, by the way), and that jobs be restored for those who have been targeted for firing, as part of any deal to reopen the government. They also committed to protecting Congress’s power of the purse, as well as continuing to prioritize legislation to repeal President Trump’s Union-busting executive orders. IFPTE continues to thank all these lawmakers for their support of our Union, federal employees, and working families overall.
On the legal front, labor scored a huge win in federal court on Wednesday when Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California handed down a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Trump administration, blocking reductions-in-force related to the shutdown for the employees represented by the plaintiff unions. Judge Illston’s order implementing the TRO states that the “harms suffered by federal employees affected by RIFs are having drastic and imminent public consequences.” As reported by GovExec, during the hearing on the TRO, Judge Illston noted that the Trump Administration has, “taken advantage of the lapse in government spending, in government functioning, to assume that all bets are off, that the laws don’t apply to them anymore…I believe that the plaintiffs will demonstrate ultimately that what’s being done here is both illegal and is in excess of authority.” IFPTE applauds Judge Illston’s decision in blocking the administration from illegally firing federal workers during the shutdown. While only employees represented by plaintiff unions are affected by the TRO, the complaint itself asks for declaratory relief, which, if granted, would cover all federal workers once the litigation runs its course.
Also, and as was reported in last week’s update, IFPTE filed a lawsuit on October 8 challenging President Trump’s second Union-busting executive order issued on August 28 that impacts IFPTE-represented members employed at NASA. As reported in GovExec, our lawsuit “argues that NASA’s workforce was targeted in the second executive order because the national union was publicly opposed to the initial executive order, and its NASA affiliate had filed more than 20 grievances against the agency and requested to bargain over workplace policy changes 17 times since March.” IFPTE’s statement accompanying the lawsuit reinforces our commitment to “continue to fight for our members and against these illegal orders and to continue to represent our union members as we await the restoration of their legal union rights.”
This lawsuit comes shortly after the injunction won in federal court by IFPTE protecting IFPTE-represented members at the Department of Defense and elsewhere from the president’s original March 27 Union-busting executive order. In addressing his ruling that the unions had satisfied the showing of irreparable harm necessary for a preliminary injunction, Federal District Court Judge Paul Friedman stated that the government’s “retaliation, animus, favoring some unions and not others” are “clearly ultra vires,” i.e. outside the scope of the President’s legal authority, and that “many of this President’s actions are not entitled to a presumption of regularity.” Judge Friedman’s decision also made clear that the order was retaliatory, saying that, “The executive order is in furtherance of unrelated policy goals. The president acted outside the narrow bounds of the national security exclusion to pursue improper goals, that is, to retaliate against unions.” He further stated that “the executive order’s breadth was in furtherance of unrelated policy goals. The President acted beyond the narrow national security related bounds of the exclusion provisions and did so to achieve improper goals, such as retaliating against unions for protected activities.” The Administration has asked the Court for a stay of the injunction. However, we will not be dissuaded and will continue to fight in the Courts.
On the legislative front, and in addition to our work to end the shutdown, IFPTE continues to work in support of both the Senate and House versions of the Protect America’s Workforce Act (PAWA). The Senate introduction of their version of the Protect America’s Workforce Act occurred on September 17. The Senate companion bill largely mirrors HR 2550, the Protect America’s Workforce Act. That House bill is subject to a discharge petition in the House that is only 2 signatures short of the 218 needed to bring it straight to the House floor for a vote. Once House Speaker, Mike Johnson, finally swears in Rep.-elect, Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona on September 23, it is expected that she will add her name to the discharge petition, bringing the magic number to one more signature in order to get this bill straight to the House floor. We continue to thank the lead sponsors of this bill, Maine Congressman Jared Golden (D, ME-2) and Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R, PA-1), who are working hard to get the 218 signatures needed on the discharge petition. As for the Senate bill, it was authored by Virginia Senator Mark Warner, with Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Tim Kaine (D-VA). The Senate bill also has bipartisan support with Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a friend of IFPTE, signed on as an original cosponsor. On the other hand, we are disappointed that Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins is not a cosponsor. Given IFPTE’s large membership in Maine represented by Local 4, her inability to cosponsor this critically important bill is alarming. As has been reported here for several weeks, this legislation is simple: It will overturn the Trump union-busting executive orders that have denied over 1 million federal employees their collective bargaining rights.
We also continue to monitor the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (NDAA), which passed the House in mid-September with the inclusion of bipartisan language authored by New Jersey Representative Donald Norcross to repeal the Trump union-busting order as it pertains to Department of Defense (DOD) civilian workers, including tens of thousands of IFPTE members. Now that the Senate has passed their version of the NDAA without any language that repeals nor supports the EO, IFPTE will turn all attention to making sure the final version of the NDAA that is agreed to in “conference” between Members of the House and Senate includes the House-passed language. This will remain a top IFPTE legislative priority throughout the NDAA legislative process, and IFPTE will be asking for similar language pertaining to NASA-employed civil servants if/when Congress considers a two-year NASA authorization bill.
With all that is going on legislatively and with the government shutdown, and in light of the Union-busting executive orders, the International continues to prioritize our EDues program. For those federal Locals that have yet to get signed up into the program, it is critically important that you do so. If you do not already have a system in place to collect Union dues electronically, please sign up for the IFPTE EDues program. Several Locals, including two NASA Locals that were impacted by the latest Union-busting order, are already in the program and signing up members, and others are on deck. If your Local is not in queue please reach out to IFPTE staff Brian Kildee (bkildee@ifpte.org) and Pavel Gerardo (pgerardo@ifpte.org) to get signed up. They are doing a great job leading this program for IFPTE and if you have not had the pleasure of working with them yet, you will no doubt enjoy it when you do. Please contact these incredible IFPTE trade Unionists directly to get your Local signed up to participate.
Along these lines, a hearty note of appreciation continues to be in order to all the IFPTE Locals that stepped up to help fund and bring our EDues system to reality. “THANK YOU” to Locals 1, 20, 21, 70, 160, 162, 194, 195, 1921 and 2001 for your generous contributions to the EDues program!
The International also continues to update our IFPTE shutdown guidance webpage. Please encourage your fellow IFPTE members, and fellow federal workers to access it for helpful information. We would also like to flag a free resource created by MyFEDBenefits entitled the Shutdown Assistance Map (SAM). This tool compiles local and national support services available to federal workers during a government shutdown, such as food banks, financial support, and other relevant services.
Whether it be in the Halls of Congress, at the grassroots level, in the legal arena or through the press, IFPTE will continue fighting for our members and against the attacks on them. Many thanks to IFPTE’s incredible staff who are tirelessly leading our efforts: Legislative Director Faraz Khan; Communications and Events Coordinator Candace Rhett; General Counsel Teresa Ellis; International Representative David LaFemina; International Representative Chris Langford; Assistant to the Executive Officers Brian Kildee; International Organizer Pavel Gerardo, and all IFPTE Locals and leaders who continue in this fight.
As you deal with these trying times, we hope that knowing your Union is fighting for you and your families, doing so in coalition with you and your respective Locals, and the larger labor movement, including the AFL-CIO, provides some level of assurance that we will get through this together. After all, it is our Solidarity that will carry the day. Let’s prioritize our own physical and mental health and keep fighting together!
LEGISLATIVE:
- Fiscal Year (2026) Appropriations – We continue to be in the fight to reopen the government. On Thursday, IFPTE president Matt Biggs, along with the leaders from AFGE, NFFE and NTEU, met with House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, and Representatives Donald Norcross, Debbie Dingle and Steven Horsford from the House Labor Caucus, to update them on the impact that the shutdown is having on our members and the services they provide. For our part, IFPTE reinforced the same message we imparted in the letter we sent last week, namely calling for a bipartisan solution to the funding impasse to get the government back opened, but also a solution that protects congressionally approved spending from illegal impoundments by the Trump Administration.
- Senate companion to HR 2550, the Protecting America’s Workforce Act introduced – IFPTE continues to work to gain support for both the House and Senate version of the Protecting America’s Workforce Act, particularly the House discharge petition that is only two signatures short of triggering a House vote on the bill. As has been reported here for several weeks, Senator Warner introduced the Senate introduction of their version of the Protect America’s Workforce Act on September 17, a companion bill that largely mirrors HR 2550, the Protect America’s Workforce Act, bipartisan legislation authored by Maine Congressman Jared Golden (D, ME-2) and Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R, PA-1), that has 222 cosponsors. The Senate bill was introduced with the support every Senate Democrat, including original cosponsors Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Tim Kaine (D-VA). The Senate version is also bipartisan, as our friend, Alaska Senator, Lisa Murkowski, is also an original cosponsor. Regrettably, Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, who represents almost two thousand Maine residents that are represented by Local 4, is not a cosponsor.
- National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Provision to Provide No Funds for DOD to Implement Union-Busting EO – The House-passed NDAA includes many important priorities IFPTE called for, most notably legislative language authored by Congressman Donald Norcross to repeal the March 27 Trump Union-busting executive order as it pertains to DOD civilian workers. Section 1110 of the bill (the Norcross amendment that was added to the bill during the July House Armed Services Committee mark-up) keeps the door open for its potential inclusion in a final NDAA conference report that is currently being negotiated between the House and Senate. The Senate has passed their version of the NDAA without the House NDAA language that upholds DOD employees’ bargaining rights. This is at the top of the IFPTE legislative priority list and something we will continue to aggressively work toward.
- NASA Reauthorization – IFPTE will be asking for similar language to that included in the House NDAA pertaining to NASA-employed civil servants if/when Congress considers a two-year NASA reauthorization bill.
- 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’’ [click.actionnetwork.org] 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 urge their House members to cosponsor these bills.
- IFPTE has also endorsed the Fair Access to Swift and Timely (FAST) Justice Act, which allows federal workers to take their Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) cases to federal court if the MSPB fails to act on an appeal within 120 days.
LEGAL:
- AFGE, AFSCME v Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought – Labor scored a huge victory on Wednesday when federal district court Judge Susan Illston put a halt to the illegal firings of federal workers by the Trump Administration. The decision comes after AFGE and AFSCME filed a pre-emptive lawsuit on September 30 challenging the Trump Administration’s ability to implement mass firings during a government shutdown.
- IFPTE v Trump Administration – IFPTE’s lawsuit that was filed on Wednesday, October 8 challenging President Trump’s latest August 28 Union-busting executive order, see the GovExec story on the lawsuit. The IFPTE legal challenge is in addition to the September 19 lawsuit against this order that was filed by AFGE and AFSCME.
- AFL-CIO, IFPTE, et al v Trump Administration – IFPTE scored a huge win on September 30 when a federal judge granted our petition for an injunction protecting IFPTE-represented members at the Department of Defense and elsewhere from the president’s March 27 Union-busting executive order. In addressing his ruling that the unions had satisfied the showing of irreparable harm necessary for a preliminary injunction, Federal District Court Judge Paul Friedman stated that the government’s “retaliation, animus, favoring some unions and not others” are “clearly ultra vires,” i.e. outside the scope of the President’s legal authority, and that “many of this President’s actions are not entitled to a presumption of regularity.” Judge Friedman’s decision also made clear that the order was retaliatory, saying that, “The executive order is in furtherance of unrelated policy goals. The president acted outside the narrow bounds of the national security exclusion to pursue improper goals, that is, to retaliate against unions.” See the GovExec article.
- 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.
- Status of all lawsuits against the current administration can be found at Just Security: “Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.”
GRASSROOTS:
- ACTION ALERT: Sign the Discharge Petition and Pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act – Tell Congress to sign the discharge petition to accompany HR 2550, the Protecting America’s Workforce Act. Join the AFL-CIO campaign here.
- “Civil Service Strong” coalition – IFPTE is partnered 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.
- 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 to receive a call or dial 844-896-5059. Learn more here.
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS:
The IFPTE Clips Team continues to send out daily updates during the Trump shutdown. This week’s clips included articles about some Republicans beginning to realize the harm in continuing to refuse to negotiate to reopen the government, including displeasure among some with recent moves by Trump and Secretary Hegseth, as well as GOP House members who face serious challenges in next year’s midterm elections.
To keep up with the latest during the Trump shutdown, sign up for IFPTE Federal News Clips & Updates at ifpte.org/federal-news-clips and encourage your coworkers to do the same.
IFPTE Local 400 