Trump Order Ending Treasury Worker Collective Bargaining Blocked by Judge

A federal labor union representing Treasury Department and IRS employees, as well as workers from dozens of other agencies, secured a court order temporarily blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to “gut” collective bargaining rights of roughly two-thirds of its members.

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Paul Friedman on April 25 granted the motion for a preliminary injunction filed April 4 by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) in its lawsuit against President Trump and heads of agencies.

NTEU, which represents 160,000 federal employees, had asked Judge Friedman to temporarily enjoin the administration from enforcing an executive order and related guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that ended collective bargaining agreements impacting tens of thousands of federal workers.

Friedman’s brief order said the executive order and OPM guidance are “unlawful as applied” to the agency leaders named in the case, who are now enjoined. Both were issued March 27 to announce “exclusions” that “exempt” agencies from the “Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and the Foreign Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.”

The decision, which the government said was made under the authority of 5 U.S.C § 7103(b)(1) and 22 U.S.C. § 4103(b), covered various agencies with workers represented by NTEU, including the entire Treasury Department (with the exception of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing).

According to the administration, the covered agencies and subagencies were “determined to have as a primary function intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work.” NTEU stated in its motion that the IRS — its “largest and oldest bargaining unit” since 1977 — does not fall under the national security umbrella.

The approximately 76,900 IRS employees represented by NTEU “provide tax assistance to taxpayers, conduct taxpayer audits, and collect overdue tax revenue.” NTEU also has represented the IRS Office of Chief Counsel since 1987. Those bargaining unit workers “provide legal guidance and interpretive advice to the IRS, to Treasury, and to taxpayers; and coordinate the IRS’s position in litigation.”

Similarly, Treasury’s departmental offices provide administrative and operational support and therefore “do not have a nexus to national security,” the union told the court. NTEU alleged that the motive behind the executive order was to facilitate “mass firings” of federal employees and exact “political vengeance.” OPM’s guidance indicated that excluding employees from collective bargaining statutory coverage would make them “easier to fire.”

The government’s response in opposition to NTEU’s motion claimed the labor union failed to show how it would be irreparably harmed without a preliminary injunction. NTEU claimed it would lose “more than half its revenue stream.” However, economic loss does not qualify as sufficient injury, the government replied.

“And even if economic loss were irreparable, Plaintiff can only speculate as to any economic loss it may suffer from Defendants’ failure to withhold dues from employees’ paychecks,” the administration’s response continued. “That is because the termination of automatic withholding is merely a procedural move. Union members remain free to pay their dues directly to the union, rather than through payroll deductions.”

Friedman did not touch on whether NTEU’s economic injury factored into granting its motion, but a supplemental opinion with the judge’s reasonings is forthcoming. The parties were instructed to file a joint status report by May 2 with a proposed schedule for future proceedings.

“Today’s court order is a victory for federal employees, their union rights and the American people they serve,” said NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald in a statement Friday. “The preliminary injunction granted at NTEU’s request means the collective bargaining rights of federal employees will remain intact and the administration’s illegal agenda to sideline the voices of federal employees and dismantle unions is blocked.”