In the biggest attack on the American labor movement in history, President Trump on March 27 issued an executive order illegally stripping collective bargaining rights from federal workers under the guise of “national security.” The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) also issued guidance telling agencies to end union rights and union contracts and shut down grievance procedures. It also told agencies to continue Trump’s Reduction in Force (RIF) order but ignore RIF requirements in the union contracts that have been cancelled.

American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National President Everett Kelley said:

“President Trump's latest executive order is a disgraceful and retaliatory attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of patriotic American civil servants—nearly one-third of whom are veterans—simply because they are members of a union that stands up to his harmful policies.

"This administration’s bullying tactics represent a clear threat not just to federal employees and their unions, but to every American who values democracy and the freedoms of speech and association. Trump’s threat to unions and working people across America is clear: fall in line or else.

The Council of Global Unions, international labour's highest body which PSI is part of, issued a statement in solidarity with the US public sector union movement.

PSI General Secretary Daniel Bertossa said:

"This attack on collective bargaining rights is not just an assault on American labor—it is a threat to democracy and workers everywhere because it is not about efficiency or reform—it is about fear. When governments strip away the right to organize, they silence the very people who keep our societies running: the nurses, civil servants, and frontline workers who deliver essential services with dignity and dedication. The White House may think it can silence dissent, but history shows: when they come for public service unions, we come back stronger."

U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued a joint statement saying Trump’s latest attack on the federal workforce is making America less safe. 

“This is just another attempt by President Trump to ‘traumatize’ and illegally fire federal workers. Collective bargaining makes the federal workforce stronger, and undermining these rights does nothing to improve our national security,” they said. “In fact, this order will only make us less safe, as this executive order is only Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s latest gambit to make it easier to fire the people who ensure public safety, prepare for pandemics, respond to natural disasters, and much, much more. This political attack on our civil servants must not stand.”