Trump Demolishes Federal Workers’ Union Rights Ahead of Mass Firing
Donald Trump’s gutting of the federal government is about to get a whole lot worse.

Donald Trump plans to ramp up his purge of the federal workforce and end union rights for many government employees at the same time.
The Washington Post on Thursday obtained an internal White House document outlining plans for 22 federal agencies to cut between 8 and 50 percent of their employees. According to the Post’s sources, the plan is a draft and doesn’t contain final numbers. But it is a worrying sign that heavy cuts are on the horizon that will severely impact government services.
For example, according to the document, the Department of Housing and Urban Development may cut half of its 8,300-person-odd staff, while the IRS could cut a third of its workforce, and the Interior Department could cut a quarter. This could affect the availability of affordable housing, tax refunds, and audits, and even National Park staffing.
Also on Thursday, Trump signed an executive order concerning government agencies, aimed at ending collective bargaining rights and placing limits on which federal employees can unionize.
The memo cites a fact sheet from the White House arguing that the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which allowed government workers to unionize, “enables hostile Federal unions to obstruct agency management.”
“President Trump is taking action to ensure that agencies vital to national security can execute their missions without delay and protect the American people,” the document states. The memo states that 18 government departments and numerous agencies are covered in the executive order, and orders the agencies to terminate their collective bargaining agreements.
The American Federation of Government Employees has already responded, accusing the Trump administration of “illegally strip[ping] collective bargaining rights from hundreds of thousands of federal workers,” in an email to its members.
“Let’s be clear. National security is not the reason for this action. This is retaliation because our union is standing up for AFGE members—and a warning to every union: fall in line, or else,” the email states. “AFGE is not going anywhere. We are fighting back. We are preparing legal action.”
Trump is already attempting to eliminate federal agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of Education. By firing federal workers across the government and removing many of their unions, he is not only rendering the government less effective but tightening his control of it.