House passes bill to restore collective bargaining for federal employees
A bill to restore collective bargaining rights for a majority of federal employees cleared the House in a floor vote Thursday afternoon.
House lawmakers voted 231-195 to pass the Protect Americaβs Workforce Act. The entire Democratic Caucus, along with 20 Republicans, voted in favor of the legislation.
The billβs passage this week came after a discharge petition on the legislation reached the required 218-signature threshold in November, forcing the House to hold a floor vote on the bill. On Wednesday, the legislation cleared an initial voting hurdle, teeing it up for its final passage Thursday afternoon.
The Protect Americaβs Workforce Act, led by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Jared Golden (D-Maine), aims to nullify two of President Donald Trumpβs executive orders this year that called for most agencies to end their union contracts. The legislation, if enacted, would restore collective bargaining for tens of thousands of federal employees.
βThis is a bipartisan effort to protect federal workers in this country,β Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Thursday on the House floor. βWeβre talking about our federal nurses, our firefighters, law enforcement, medical professionals, the men and women that are working across our airports, that are taking care of our nuclear reactors in this country. They deserve the right to organize.β
In March, Trump ordered most agencies to cancel their agreements with federal unions, on the grounds that those agencies work primarily in national security. The president signed a second executive order in August, expanding the number of agencies instructed to bar their unions from bargaining on behalf of federal employees.
Combined, Trumpβs two orders impact an estimated two-thirds of the federal workforce.
Prior to Thursday afternoonβs vote, several Republicans spoke on the House floor in opposition to the legislation.
βThe president has been fighting back against the deals that public sector unions have negotiated for themselves, at the expense of the American taxpayer, by invoking an existing legal authority,β said Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the Oversight committee. β[This bill] directly threatens that progress by overturning the presidentβs executive order that exercises one of the few tools available to him under the law to more effectively manage the federal workforce.β
Many federal unions, however, have called Trumpβs orders nixing collective bargaining illegal. A union coalition, led by the American Federation of Government Employees, sued the Trump administration earlier this year over its rollback of collective bargaining rights. The lawsuit alleges that the administration took an overly broad interpretation of agencies that work primarily in national security, and argues that many of the agencies impacted by Trumpβs orders have nothing to do with national security.
Following AFGEβs lawsuit, a federal judge in AprilΒ blocked the administrationΒ from enforcing the executive order. An appeals courtΒ later overturned that decision, allowing agencies to move forward with βde-recognizingβ their unions. Several agencies have since rescinded their collective bargaining agreements.
Federal unions, including the National Federation of Federal Employees, lauded the Houseβs passage of the bill on Thursday.
βThis is an incredible testament to the strength of federal employees and the longstanding support for their fundamental right to organize and join a union,β said Randy Erwin, NFFEβs national president. βIn bipartisan fashion, Congress has asserted their authority to hold the president accountable for the biggest attack on workers that this country has ever seen.β
Despite the Houseβs passage of the legislation, it would still require approval in the Senate to be enacted. The companion bill for the Protect Americaβs Workforce Act, first introduced in September by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), has one Republican cosponsor, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
βWe need to build on this seismic victory in the House and get immediate action in the Senate,β AFGE National President Everett Kelley said Thursday. βAnd also ensure that any future budget bills similarly protect collective bargaining rights for the largely unseen civil servants who keep our government running.β
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Β© AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson