Overview

• Nine federal agencies have terminated collective bargaining agreements, voiding contracts that covered more than 445,000 employees after an Aug. 1 appellate ruling kept the orders in force.
• The administration’s legal rationale relies on a 1978 statute allowing exclusions for national security functions, applied far beyond traditional defense and intelligence offices.
• A second order signed last week expanded the list, and cancellations now span the VA, EPA, USDA, HHS, FEMA, the Coast Guard, the GSA and parts of Homeland Security, affecting roles from VA clinicians and park rangers to NASA and National Weather Service scientists and USDA food safety inspectors.
• Labor leaders denounce the campaign as the largest act of union busting in U.S. history, with AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler calling it a "big betrayal" of workers.
• Unions and allied legal groups are pressing ongoing challenges, including filings that argue the directives unlawfully retaliate against protected speech while broader litigation continues across multiple courts.