The House of Representatives passed the Protect America’s Workforce Act on December 11, overturning President Donald Trump’s executive orders stripping collective bargaining rights from federal workers. The legislation marks the first time the current Congress has voted to overturn a Trump executive order.
Twenty House Republicans crossed party lines to support the measure, introduced by Representatives Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, and Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Pennsylvania. The bill advanced to the floor through a discharge petition, a procedural mechanism that required 218 signatures to force a vote that bypassed Republican leadership.
President Trump signed his initial executive order on March 27, invoking a rarely used provision of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act to exclude federal employees from collective bargaining protections on national security grounds. The order targeted workers at more than 40 federal agencies. In August, Trump issued a second executive order expanding the restrictions to include additional agencies such as NASA, the National Weather Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Labor leaders have characterized these actions as the single largest act of union-busting in American history, affecting approximately 600,000 to 800,000 federal workers. The orders eliminate existing union contracts, dissolve collective bargaining rights, halt grievance processing, and prohibit automatic payroll deductions for union dues.
Republicans who opposed the measure raised concerns about federal workforce accountability and efficiency. House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman James Comer cited a White House report claiming federal employees spent more than 3 million work hours on union business in 2024, costing over $200 million.
However, critics of Comer’s argument pointed out that 3 million work hours represent just 0.069 percent of the 4.4 billion annual work hours performed by federal civilian employees.
Despite the House victory, the legislation faces significant obstacles in the Republican-controlled Senate, where its prospects remain uncertain. Lawmakers initially included similar union protection language in the National Defense Authorization Act but removed it due to insufficient GOP Senate support.
Many of the Republican representatives who supported the bill are facing challenging reelection campaigns in 2026, and some political observers have noted growing sentiment among certain Republicans in favor of stronger protections for unions as a rallying issue for working-class voters.
