Appeals court allows Trump’s anti-union order to take effect

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON AP An appeals court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump s executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees while a lawsuit plays out The Friday ruling came after the Trump administration solicited for an urgency pause on a judge s order blocking enforcement at roughly three dozen agencies and departments Related Articles Trump s massive import taxes haven t done much economic damage yet RFK Jr pledged not to upend US vaccine system but big changes are underway JD Vance gives Pope Leo XIV an invitation from Trump to visit US Trump s big bill advances in rare weekend vote but conservatives demand more changes Trump call with Putin underway as he hopes for ceasefire progress in Russia-Ukraine war A split three-judge panel in the nation s capital sided with administration lawyers in a lawsuit filed by unions representing federal employees The majority ruled on technical grounds finding that the unions don t have the legal right to sue because the Trump administration has commented it won t end any collective bargaining agreements while the matter is being litigated Judge Karen Henderson appointed by Republican President George H W Bush and Justin Walker appointed by Trump sided with the establishment while Judge Michelle Childs appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden dissented The authorities says Trump necessities the executive order so his administration can cut the federal workforce to ensure strong national measure The law requiring collective bargaining creates exemptions for work related to national measure as in agencies like the FBI Union leaders argue the order is designed to facilitate mass firings and exact political vengeance against federal unions opposed to Trump s efforts to dramatically downsize the federal regime His order seeks to expand that exemption to exclude more workers than any other president has before That s according to the National Treasury Employees Union which is suing to block the order The administration has filed in a Kentucky court to terminate the collective bargaining agreement for the International Revenue Utility where multiple workers are represented by the National Treasury Employees Union They say their IRS members aren t doing national prevention work Other union employees affected by the order include the Physical condition and Human Services Department the Power Department the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Communications Commission