Unions seek immediate restoration of Defense Department collective bargaining
Two federal employee unions, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), asked a federal judge on Monday to issue a preliminary injunction restoring their collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with the Department of Defense. The unions contend Secretary Pete Hegseth terminated their CBAs in April without following the reasoned, deliberative process the Administrative Procedure Act requires.
What the lawsuit challenges: process, not the executive order
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Maryland earlier this month, does not squarely challenge the legality of President Trump’s March 2025 executive order that bars collective bargaining for roughly two-thirds of the federal workforce on national security grounds. Instead, AFGE and NFFE focus on whether Hegseth met his obligation to engage in “reasoned decision-making” under the Administrative Procedure Act when he ordered mass terminations with only 24 hours’ notice.
The unions argue that Hegseth’s memorandum failed to identify facts showing CBAs were inconsistent with national security and did not consider alternatives to immediate termination — including waiting for litigation over the executive order, allowing CBAs to expire normally, or identifying specific CBA provisions that might conflict with national security.
Alleged departures from OPM guidance
The unions say the Defense Department disregarded an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) termination template issued in February that the unions describe as designed to ensure agencies explain policy changes and consider stakeholders’ reliance interests. The OPM template, according to the filing, suggests agencies should say they “considered whether to terminate any CBA, in whole or part, as it pertains to those bargaining unit employees who fall within the EO’s scope.” By contrast, the unions say Hegseth’s memorandum stated only that the actions were “required” to comply with the presidential order.
Immediate workplace effects the unions describe
Since the April terminations, the filing alleges, Defense management officials have told rank-and-file employees that their union “does not exist any longer,” and some workers were asked to sign documents attesting they lack union representation. The unions say employees facing disciplinary proceedings are being denied access to union representatives, managers are unilaterally changing work schedules with little notice, and membership is falling as prospective members are told they are ineligible to join.
“Plaintiffs face an existential threat because workers are afraid to engage in any union activity or are confused about their right to do so,” the filing states, adding that these harms are irreparable.
Legal posture and the court assignment
AFGE and NFFE’s case is pending in the U.S. District Court for Maryland and has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher. The filing notes Judge Gallagher was nominated to the federal bench by both presidents Obama and Trump. The unions are asking the court for a preliminary injunction to restore the CBAs while the litigation proceeds.
How Defense Department employees, the unions, and the courts are positioned
- Defense Department employees: According to the unions’ filing, workers are experiencing changes to representation and due-process access in disciplinary settings, altered work schedules, and uncertainty about membership rights.
- The unions (AFGE and NFFE): They are seeking judicial relief on procedural grounds under the Administrative Procedure Act, emphasizing the lack of fact-based rationale in the Hegseth memorandum and the failure to use the OPM template.
- The federal courts: The case is now before the U.S. District Court for Maryland and Judge Stephanie Gallagher, and the immediate question for the court is whether to grant a preliminary injunction restoring the terminated CBAs.
The unions’ request frames the dispute not as a direct attack on the executive order’s substance but as a narrow challenge to how the Department of Defense implemented it. The immediate decision Judge Gallagher makes on a preliminary injunction will determine whether the unions’ CBAs are temporarily restored while the underlying APA claim moves forward — and whether the workplace conditions the unions describe remain in place during that process.
