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| Trump's plan to cut government staff |
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has terminated contracts with employees of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the agency's branch president said Saturday, August 9. This is the latest step in President Donald Trump's efforts to weaken collective bargaining in the federal government.
Justin Chin, president of the AFGE's EPA branch, stated in a press release that the union, which represents 8,000 agency employees, plans to file a legal response to the decision.
This decision brings Trump closer to his goal of stripping hundreds of thousands of federal employees of the right to bargain collectively with government agencies. Attorneys representing federal employees say that eliminating union agreements would make it easier for agencies to fire or discipline employees.
"EPA is working diligently to implement President Trump's executive orders related to the AFGE, including the 'Exemptions to Federal Labor Relations Programs,' in compliance with the law," an EPA spokesperson said in a statement, referring to the executive order Trump issued last March.
The executive order revokes collective bargaining rights at more than 30 federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency. It is currently subject to a legal challenge by unions, who argue that it violates freedom of speech and nullifies obligations to negotiate with employees.
The unions are filing lawsuits to block Trump's efforts to dismantle collective bargaining agreements. On August 1, a federal appeals court ruled that the administration could proceed with exempting certain federal agencies from their obligation to negotiate with unions.