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9th Circuit Stays Injunction on Trump Order Ending Federal Union Bargaining

The ruling revives a national security-based order to strip collective bargaining rights from over a dozen agencies, prompting unions to prepare further appeals.

Labor union members hold placards on the day of a rally in support of federal workers during a rush hour protest outside the L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 24, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo
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Overview

  • A three-judge 9th Circuit panel lifted U.S. District Judge James Donato’s June injunction, allowing President Trump’s March executive order to move forward.
  • The order invokes the Civil Service Reform Act’s national security exception to exempt agencies with intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative or national security roles from collective bargaining.
  • The appellate panel concluded the order shows no retaliatory animus and agreed the president “would have taken the same action even in the absence of the protected conduct.”
  • The American Federation of Government Employees and five other federal unions condemned the decision as a setback for First Amendment rights and signaled plans to pursue further appeals.
  • If upheld, the order would mark the largest rollback of federal union protections since 1978, enabling agencies to alter working conditions and limit unions’ ability to challenge policies in court.