The House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would nullify one of President Trump’s executive orders that significantly expanded the number of agencies where federal employees were excluded from union representation.
The Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R. 2550) was introduced by Congressman Jared Golden (D-ME). The bill would nullify the president’s March Executive Order Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs.
This Executive Order expanded the exclusion of federal agencies from union representation, targeting agencies with primary functions in intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work. This included the Departments of State, Defense, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Justice, and others.
The bill was passed in the House via discharge petition which is a procedural mechanism that allows a majority of members to force a floor vote on a bill or on a special-rule measure when the usual committee process has stalled.
20 Republicans voted with Democrats to pass the bill in a 231-195 vote late Thursday afternoon.
“Federal workers show up on the job every day to do the people’s work, and their limited collective bargaining rights are critical to protecting them from unfair treatment and political interference,” Golden said after the bill’s passage. “I’m proud of the strong, bipartisan coalition that came together to pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act in the House, and I urge the Senate to quickly take up this bill and join us in standing up for workers.”
TSA Nixes Collective Bargaining Agreement
Shortly after this bill passed the House, the Transportation Security Administration announced that the agency was terminating its 2024 collective bargaining agreement and putting a new labor relations framework in place effective January 11, 2026.
The new framework is based on a determination made by Department of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem which establishes that TSA security screening employees, due to their national security role, cannot engage in collective bargaining or be represented by any organization.
The conclusion was that collective bargaining and exclusive representation for screening officers is inconsistent with efficient stewardship of taxpayer dollars and impedes the agility required to secure the traveling public.
As part of the change, TSA will no longer use its payroll system for collecting union dues from Transportation Security Officers’ paychecks.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) has been fighting the Trump administration from the moment the president took office in January when it sued over the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and the lawsuits have kept coming.
The union vowed to fight the TSA decision. National President Everett Kelley said, “Secretary Noem’s decision to rip up the union contract for 47,000 TSA officers is an illegal act of retaliatory union-busting that should cause concern for every person who steps foot in an airport. AFGE will continue to challenge these illegal attacks on our members’ right to belong to a union, and we urge the Senate to pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act immediately.”
DHS announced in March that it was ending collective bargaining at TSA due to problems it had created, including exploited benefit programs by a select few underperforming employees and TSA employees engaged in union activities (official time) instead of screening.
The agency believes that current statute establishes that employees performing security screening functions under 49 U.S.C. § 44901 have a primary function of national security and shall not engage in collective bargaining or be represented for any purposes by any representative or organization.
“Our Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) need to be focused on their mission of keeping travelers safe not wasting countless hours on non-mission critical work,” said Adam Stahl, Senior Official Performing the Duties of TSA Deputy Administrator. “Under the leadership of Secretary Noem, we are ridding the agency of wasteful and time-consuming activities that distracted our officers from their crucial work.”
