Federal workers’ union leader vows to 'aggressively defend' contracts Trump just cancelled

President Donald Trump recently announced he was cancelling the collective bargaining agreements (CBA) with federal employees that former President Joe Biden's administration signed off on before he left office. The head of the largest union representing federal workers is now promising to fight back.

NBC News political reporter Allan Smith tweeted Trump's memo on Friday evening that he was not going to honor the CBA. In the memo entitled: "Limiting Lame-Duck Collective Bargaining Agreements That Improperly Attempt to Constrain the New President," Trump wrote that the CBA was "an attempt to harm my Administration by extending its wasteful and failing policies beyond its time in office."

"Such last-minute, lame-duck CBAs, which purport to bind a new President to his predecessor's policies, run counter to America's system of democratic self-government," Trump wrote in the memo. "CBAs quickly negotiated to include extreme policies on the eve of a new administration are purposefully designed to circumvent the will of the people and our democracy."

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In response to Trump's announcement, Everett Kelley — the president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) — slammed both Trump and billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who Trump has made his informal government efficiency czar.

"Today's memorandum is one more action taken by Mr. Musk and the Trump administration this week attempting to frighten and confuse federal employees," Kelley stated.

"Federal employees should know that approved union contracts are enforceable by law, and the president does not have the authority to make unilateral changes to those agreements," he continued. "AFGE members will not be intimidated. If our contracts are violated, we will aggressively defend them."

One main detail Trump took issue with in the CBA that the Biden administration negotiated with workers during his final weeks in office was cementing the ability for federal employees to continue working remotely. Trump promised to make federal employees work in-person from federal buildings five days a week. Many federal agencies' CBAs are through 2028, meaning they will not be open for re-negotiation until after Trump has left office.

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