By Zamone Perez
Virginia News Connection
President Donald Trump has rescinded union rights for thousands of Virginia federal employees. Now, those unions are calling on Congress to restore collective bargaining for federal employees.
The Protect America’s Workforce Act passed the U.S. House in December. Twenty Republicans voted alongside Democrats to approve it. If passed in the Senate, it would restore the bargaining rights of thousands of federal workers in the Commonwealth.
Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said unions for federal employees help increase efficiency in government.
“We have been in the workforces for many years,” she said, “and have worked together jointly, union and management, to work out these agreements and represent employees in a fair manner that helps agencies actually operate more efficiently.”
Trump has argued that the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 gives him the power to end the union rights of federal employees. The law states that federal agencies can be exempted from collective bargaining if they contribute to national security. As a result, union representation in the federal government has dropped dramatically, according to the Office of Personnel and Management. Nearly 38% of workers now fall under a bargaining unit, down from 56% more than a year ago.
Greenwald said the end of collective bargaining rights in so many agencies have only complicated the work of federal employees.
“This step by the administration is really mind-boggling because it is not helping provide the American people better resources or tools,” she said. “It’s just causing a lot of chaos in the workplace.”
According to the Cooper Center for Public Service, Virginia is home to nearly 150,000 federal employees, one of the highest concentrations in the country.
