On January 31, 2025, President Trump issued a new memorandum announcing a new policy concerning federal agencies entering into new union collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) within 30 calendar days of the end of a presidential administration.
The new policy specifically focuses on new CBAs which materially modify or extend preexisting CBAs. Under current statute (5 U.S.C. 7114), federal agency heads have a 30 day window for approving or disapproving a collective bargaining agreement with one of the agency’s unions. The memorandum directed agency heads to issue disapprovals of any new CBAs currently still in that 30 day review period, if the new CBA materially modifies or extends the preexisting CBA. CBAs which had received agency head approval (or which were not disapproved within the 30-day window) prior to the policy remain in force. The memorandum also excepted CBAs for law enforcement employees from its effects; however, the memorandum contained a clause which attempted to avoid having that exception prevent the memorandum from being a “government-wide rule or regulation” issue exempt from collective bargaining.
Press commentators noted that the memorandum contained apparent factual errors (for example, asserting that the Department of Education had signed a new CBA on January 17, 2025, when AFGE had stated that the contract had fully completed agency head review on January 17, 2025 instead).
If you are a federal employee and wish to seek advice concerning your legal rights, consider contacting Gilbert Employment Law to request an initial consultation.