WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) joined Senate colleagues in a letter urging President Donald Trump to rescind his March 27 executive order to end collective bargaining agreements between public employee unions and dozens of federal agencies. In their letter, the Senators blasted the move as a “gross overreach” of presidential authority, asserting that the executive order is a clear attempt to gut the federal merit-based civil service and implement a system of political cronyism. They stressed that the order poses a grave threat to the ability of over 1 million federal workers to carry out their missions and deliver important services for the American people – and thus should be rescinded immediately.
“This order is an insult to the hardworking public servants who go to work on behalf of the American people,” wrote the Senators. “There is no evidence that the long-standing collective bargaining agreements at these agencies have jeopardized our nation’s security in any way; to the contrary, the protection collective bargaining has provided for employees allows them to conduct their work on behalf of the American people—including blowing the whistle on fraud or abuse—without political interference.”
“This Administration clearly does not have even a basic understanding of the legally binding nature of federal collective bargaining agreements and is actively trying to bend the law to undermine protections for federal civil servants,” they continued. “We urge you to immediately rescind this illegal executive order so that our dedicated public servants can continue to work on behalf of the American public without fear for their job or political retribution.”
The letter is endorsed by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), and Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
As a former union member herself, Senator Rosen has been a strong advocate for Nevada’s workers. Last month, she helped reintroduce the PRO Act, comprehensive labor legislation to protect the rights of workers to stand together and bargain for fair wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. Last year, Senator Rosen helped introduce the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act to federally guarantee the right of law enforcement officials and other public employees to organize and collectively bargain. Last Congress, she co-sponsored the FAMILY Act, which would provide all workers with twelve weeks of paid parental, medical, and caregiving leave. Senator Rosen has also helped introduce legislation to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.
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