A coalition of moderate Republicans has joined forces with House Democrats to challenge President Donald Trump's executive order that strips union rights from hundreds of thousands of federal workers. The bipartisan effort represents a significant break from party unity on labor issues.
Legislative Maneuver Forces House Vote
Representatives Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, and Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Pennsylvania, introduced legislation that would overturn Trump's order nullifying collective bargaining agreements. Golden described the presidential action as "the single biggest act of union-busting in American history."
Despite Republican control of the chamber, a majority of House members—218 representatives—have signed a discharge petition to force the bill out of committee. Under House rules, this legislative maneuver requires the measure to come to a full House vote within seven legislative days.
This strategy mirrors recent bipartisan efforts that successfully compelled House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, to advance legislation requiring the Justice Department to release files concerning late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Broad Impact on Federal Workforce
The AFL-CIO labor federation estimates that Trump's order would eliminate union rights for approximately 400,000 federal workers across multiple agencies. Affected departments include Veterans Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department, and substantial portions of the Agriculture Department.
The administration justified the rollback by claiming these employees work primarily in "intelligence" or "national security" roles. However, this rationale has faced sharp criticism from workers and union representatives who note that many affected positions—including nurses, scientists, and park rangers—have no connection to such functions.
A federal union leader at the Bureau of Land Management, which falls under Trump's order, told HuffPost earlier this year that the justification was absurd. "Some of my members are park rangers, recreation specialists, botanists," she explained. "We're not national security. We don't engage in counterintelligence."
Republican Defectors and Legal Challenges
Fitzpatrick was joined by four other Republicans in supporting the petition: Don Bacon of Nebraska, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, and New York representatives Nick LaLota and Mike Lawler. This split within Republican ranks signals that not all party members support the president's aggressive stance against federal unions.
Golden, who launched the petition effort in June, expressed pride in the "bipartisan coalition" behind the legislation. He specifically thanked LaLota and Lawler for helping secure the majority of signatures needed. "America never voted to eliminate workers' union rights," Golden stated, "and the strong bipartisan support for my bill shows that Congress will not stand idly by."
Meanwhile, unions have filed lawsuits seeking to block Trump's order, arguing the move is both retaliatory and unlawful. They point to administration statements indicating the president views federal unions as political enemies that have "declared war on President Trump's agenda."
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, connected the workforce reductions to tangible impacts on government services. She cited staffing shortages at veterans hospitals and weakened disaster response capabilities as consequences of Trump's cuts to the federal workforce.
While the union legislation faces dim prospects in the GOP-controlled Senate, its advancement in the House demonstrates significant bipartisan resistance to the administration's labor policies. As Shuler noted, "Working people built a bipartisan coalition to restore union rights to federal workers in the face of unprecedented attacks on our freedoms, but the fight isn't over."
