Federal employee unions sue Trump administration over canceled bargaining agreements
Federal employee unions sue Trump administration over canceled bargaining agreements
By Eric White
- The Office of Personnel Management is reminding agencies of the procedures for conducting a reduction in force (RIF). New guidance from OPM details the processes involved in a RIF, like notice periods, benefits and employee appeals. The guidance comes as agencies are taking further steps toward conducting their RIF plans. The efforts will lead to large workforce cuts and possible agency relocations. The Trump administration is also making some significant changes to the standard RIF process. OPM said, for instance, that agencies should ignore any collective bargaining provisions that interfere with RIFs.(OPM urges agencies to prepare for potential RIFs - Office of Personnel Management)
- Federal unions have been quick to push back against President Trump’s move canceling many collective bargaining agreements. The American Federation of Government Employees, National Treasury Employees Union and National Federation of Federal Employees all say they plan to immediately sue the Trump administration over last week’s executive order. Trump’s order took the initial steps to cancel majority of agencies’ collective bargaining agreements. The White House said that the president has the authority to remove collective bargaining for any agency that deals in “national security.” But federal unions quickly called the move illegal and are seeking immediate legal action. Those lawsuits are expected in the coming weeks.(Legal action against Trump administration - AFGE, NTEU, NFFE)
- The U.S. Agency for Global Media and Voice of America will be able to continue their work, at least for the time being. A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to shut down the agency. The U.S. Agency for Global Media had been closing programs and ending grants to comply with a recent executive order. But a federal judge has now found the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency unlawful. The American Federation of Government Employees, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit, called the judge’s decision “crucial” for democracy, transparency and federal employees. (U.S. Agency for Global Media lawsuit - American Federation of Government Employees and Democracy Forward)
- The U.S. Agency for Global Media and Voice of America will be able to continue their work, at least for the time being. A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to shut down the agency. The U.S. Agency for Global Media had been closing programs and ending grants to comply with a recent executive order. But a federal judge has now found the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency unlawful. The American Federation of Government Employees, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit, called the judge’s decision “crucial” for democracy, transparency and federal employees.
- The Defense Department launches its own deferred resignation program and offers early retirement for all eligible civilian employees. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the effort is a “new opportunity to right-size DoD.” The move comes as the DoD seeks to drastically shrink the size of its civilian workforce. Hegseth said he wants to maximize participation in the program, which will allow senior leadership to “minimize the number of involuntary actions that may be required to achieve the strategic objectives.” Involuntary actions could include a number of methods used to shrink the civilian workforce, including layoffs. The DoD has already implemented a hiring freeze and terminated hundreds of probationary employees, some of whom have not been reinstated despite a judge’s order to rehire all fired workers.
- A freeze on government credit cards is leaving small businesses with paused orders, unpaid invoices and no way to process new purchases. While the decision to place a $1 spending limit on all government purchase cards is creating inefficiencies for federal agencies, it is also paralyzing minority-owned small businesses that rely on predictable cash flow to maintain their operations, pay their staff and continue meeting contract obligations. The freeze also affects small businesses’ ability to pay their suppliers on time. The federal agencies said the freeze would be in place until April 9, but contractors are skeptical that the date will hold. Last week, the Department of Government Efficiency announced it had canceled nearly 300,000 credit cards across sixteen agencies adding that a lot more card cancellations were coming. (Freeze on government credit cards paralyzes small businesses, creates inefficiencies for agencies - Federal News Network)
- The Army is taking a pause before deciding how to move forward with its multiple award contract for professional services that has a ceiling of $50 billion. In a notice on SAM.gov, the Army said in light of President Donald Trump's recent executive order to consolidate procurement, it is determining any potential impact on the Marketplace for the Acquisition of Professional Services (MAPS) contract vehicle. The Army last week had planned to release the fourth draft version of the solicitation. This would've been the final draft before it issued the final RFP. MAPS is supposed to consolidate and replace two current multiple award contracts, the Information Technology Enterprise Solutions 3 – Services (ITES-3S) and Responsive Strategic Sourcing for Services (RS3) vehicles.(Army delays release of $50B professional services RFP - SAM.gov)
- Michael Duffey, the nominee to be the next undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said he will review the requirements for Defense Department’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0, if he is confirmed for the role. Duffey said he would “evaluate options to improve the requirements and implementation” to allow companies to affordably maintain pace with cybersecurity best practices. Defense contractors handling controlled unclassified or federal contract information will soon have to comply with one of three CMMC levels — some contractors have raised concerns that these regulations could pose challenges for smaller firms.(Pentagon’s acquisition nominee pledges to review CMMC program - Senate Armed Services Committee)
- Karen Evans already is in line for new job with the Homeland Security Department. Almost two months after joining CISA as a senior advisor for cybersecurity and later becoming executive assistant director for cybersecurity, she has been nominated to be the undersecretary for management at DHS. The Senate has to confirm Evans, who was previously the DHS chief information officer and federal CIO. DHS hasn't had a full-time undersecretary for management since Claire Grady left in 2019. Evans' nomination comes as Randolph "Tex" Alles, the deputy under secretary for management since July 2019, unexpectedly resigned last week. He was the highest career senior executive service member. (Evans nominated to be top DHS management official - Congress.gov)
- The Treasury Department is looking for a new chief information officer. Tony Arcadi, who was Treasury's CIO for the last three years, retired last Monday after 28 years of federal service. Arcadi didn't say what he planned on doing next. Jeff King, Treasury's principal deputy CIO, will take over as acting CIO on an interim basis. Arcadi joined the government in 1998 with the U.S. Marshals Service and moved to the Treasury Department in 2009. He became CIO in June 2021. During his tenure, Arcadi focused on modernizing legacy technology, including migrating systems to the cloud through the agency's T-Cloud program.
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