Overview

• On August 12 Chicago EPA employees lost their union protections and nearly 100 workers and supporters held a rally outside the agency’s Loop headquarters in protest.
• The Department of Veterans Affairs this week stripped collective bargaining rights from about 350,000 staff and other agencies including FEMA and USCIS have also canceled agreements.
• A Ninth Circuit panel lifted an injunction on August 1, enabling agencies to implement contract terminations in affected jurisdictions.
• Unions such as AFGE and NTEU have filed lawsuits in multiple circuits, including a California federal complaint seeking to halt further cancellations.
• Labor experts caution that these moves could undermine environmental justice and public health programs and disproportionately harm Black federal employees who represent a sizable share of the workforce.