The administration said the courts do not have the authority to review the president’s policies.
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from implementing policies aimed at ending collective bargaining arrangements with employees of certain federal departments and agencies.
In an order on April 25th, US District Judge Paul Friedman granted the union’s request for a temporary injunction. His order blocked President Donald Trump, an executive order signed in March, and related guidance documents from the Department of Personnel Management.
Friedman said the court will release its opinions in the next few days.
Trump’s order outlined a long list of agencies he said should be excluded from collective bargaining agreements based on his participation in national security and other related activities. The entities listed include the Department of State, Treasury, Food and Drug Administration, and the Department of General Services.
In a March 31 lawsuit, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) alleged that Trump was mistakenly applying a narrow sculpture that Congress granted collective bargaining rights.
“The administration’s own issuance shows that the president’s exclusion is based on national security concerns, but instead shows that the policy’s aim is to facilitate firing and political anise for federal employees to federal sector unions,” the lawsuit reads.
The administration levelled multiple arguments in opposition to the NTEU’s request for a temporary injunction. On April 11, the court said it lacked the power to determine the president’s decision on national security and submitted that “the exercise of discretion here is readily supported by facts and law.”
The administration said the law in question (the Federal Services Labor Management Relations Act) has established a management scheme that must deal with these types of disputes.
He blocked the administration’s actions and said it would “it would erupt and frustrate the president’s decision on how to best deal with national security issues, issues that courts normally postpone to the president’s decision.”
Guidance from the Human Resources Administration said: “Strengthening accountability for the performance of the federal workforce is a priority for President Trump and his administration.”
“The President believes that the law will be faithfully executed and effectively supervise federal employees to protect American national security,” he added.
In a statement, union president Doreen Greenwald welcomed the interim injunction issued by Friedman in Washington.
“Today’s court order is a victory for federal employees, their union rights, and the American people they serve,” Greenwald said. “The interim injunction granted in response to NTEU requests means that federal employees’ collective bargaining rights remain intact and that the administration’s illegal agenda will monitor the voices of federal employees and dismantle the union.”
Friedman’s decision was the latest in a series of lawsuits involving the NTEU and other unions that have called for various issues in Trump’s second term, including employment and agency actions. Another NTEU lawsuit filed in January challenged Trump’s orders that would make it easier to fire certain federal employees.
Since taking office, Trump has offered to buy federal employees and has sought to eliminate a large number of probation employees as part of his efforts to reduce the federal government and reduce spending. With an order on April 8, the Supreme Court blocked the decision of a lower court, and the administration revived thousands of probation employees.
He said the lower court’s order was based on allegations from nonprofits that lacked position. “The order does not address the claims of other plaintiffs that did not form the basis for the district court’s interim injunction,” the court said in the order that it had not signed.
