Albany — A union that represents 150,000 US government employees filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to block President Donald Trump from stripping hundreds of thousands of federal workers of the ability to collectively bargain with government agencies through their unions.
The National Treasury Employees Union said in the lawsuit filed in Washington, DC, federal court that Trump’s executive order last week exempting more than a dozen agencies from collective bargaining obligations violates federal workers’ labour rights and the US constitution.
On the same day Trump issued the order, eight federal agencies filed a lawsuit against dozens of local union affiliates seeking to invalidate existing union contracts covering thousands of workers.
Eliminating collective bargaining would remove obstacles for agencies to alter working conditions, including changes related to budget cuts, and fire or discipline workers. Trump in his order also said it was necessary to safeguard national security.
The NTEU in the lawsuit said Trump’s sweeping order was not based on any national security concerns.
“They were instead based on a policy goal of making federal employees easier to fire and political animus against federal sector unions who have opposed the Trump administration’s initiatives,” the union said.
The lawsuit seeks a ruling blocking Trump’s order and barring federal agencies from complying with it.
Reuters
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