NPR reports that several federal employee unions are seeking answers on the best way to survive as President Donald Trump’s moves continue to threaten their importance.
The President of the National Treasury Employees Union’s (NTEU) Chapter 282, Anthony Lee, was taken aback by how he learned about mass layoffs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Instead of learning about it ahead of time, Lee said the first time he heard of it was when he started to receive panicked calls as employees learned their fate and swiped their badges to begin their work shift.
A green light was presented for some to proceed, while a red light meant termination. “For dozens,
hundreds of employees, it just went red and they weren’t able to enter the building,” the FDA veteran said. “That’s the way a lot of people did find out that their federal service was ending.”Under a collective bargaining agreement for the union representing close to 9,000 FDA employees, the government must give advanced notice of any employment reduction. However, Lee said, “basically we’ve been ignored” since the Trump administration allegedly did no such thing.
The union president touched on Trump’s beef with unions, not being new, but says the President’s union attacks are “exponentially worse” than in his first term, targeting union bargaining units. In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order
ending collective bargaining rights for select federal workers, highlighting a provision within a federal law that gives him authority to cut ties at agencies with national security as a primary mission. “Even our ability to exist in the federal workplace — to be able to represent employees — is threatened by this administration,” Lee said.Employees working at agencies like the CIA, the FBI, and the National Security Agency don’t have collective bargaining rights.
Like others, Lee is concerned about what will happen if Trump continues to get his way. There is a risk of workers losing stability and protections that made working for the government worthwhile in the first place. However, the President has argued that negotiating with unions over workplace matters gets in the way of his ability to manage the government the way he wants.
Trump’s anti-union executive orders have targeted other unions outside of NTEU, like the largest union for federal employees, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). According to the Associated Press, the union plans to lay off more than half its staff nationwide as officials say orders have weakened finances. The workforce will decrease from 355 employees to 150, scraping organizers, national representatives, support staff, and more.
Pointing the finger at Trump’s policies as the reason behind the layoffs, AFGE released a statement calling the terminations a “setback” but says they aren’t
going anywhere, “not by a long shot.” “We will not be deterred, silenced, or intimidated into submission,” the statement read. “Whether it’s in the courts, on Capitol Hill, or in the press, AFGE will continue to stand tall and defend the rights of America’s civil servants as long as it takes.”The White House has labeled AFGE as a “hostile” organization with too much power over how the government functions.
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