AFT’s Weingarten on Trump’s Illegal Executive Order Trying to Ban Collective Bargaining for Federal Employees

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten responded after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that unlawfully terminates federal workers’ collective bargaining rights under the false pretext of national security. The AFT represents thousands of affected employees in Department of Defense schools and Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals.

“This illegal executive order, ripped from the pages of Project 2025, is blatant retaliation for federal workers standing up to Elon Musk’s chaos and harm on behalf of all Americans.

“The text of the order is plain: This has nothing to do with security and everything to do with silencing those who disagree with the government. After workers sued and spoke out about the unlawful evisceration of entire agencies, the Trump administration responded by trying to eliminate their collective bargaining rights. Both the courts and the public have agreed with our calls for justice.

“These are the workers, a third of them veterans, who keep the country running. They include educators who teach the children of deployed service members at some of the best schools in the world, run by the Department of Defense. They include nurses in VA hospitals who stand up for patients who save people’s lives. And they include workers who safeguard the food supply and preserve Medicaid and Medicare.

“The administration is trying to send a message that unless you please the president, unions will not be tolerated. But the labor movement’s job is to act on behalf of the people: those we serve and those we represent. We’re both a fundamental check and balance and a canary in the coal mine. Our job is to fight for a dignified life for working people. When a president does that, we applaud, and when a president harms Americans, we resist.

“And that’s what the AFT’s 1.8 million members will continue to do: fight in the streets, in the courts and in Congress, to uphold both the law and the right of all workers to advocate for their collective interests and America’s future.”