The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) filed a lawsuit last week in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Trump administration, challenging executive orders that strip collective bargaining rights from two-thirds of federal workers by designating them as national security roles under the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA). IBEW argues that its blue-collar bargaining units at the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation and the Energy Department's Southwestern Power Administration and Western Area Power Administration are exempt from these orders due to Section 704 of the CSRA, which preserves pre-existing rights under the 1972 Government Employees Prevailing Rate Systems Act to compete with private sector wages and maintain infrastructure security. The suit cites congressional intent to protect these workers' ability to negotiate pay and conditions, a 1980 Federal Labor Relations Authority decision, and a recent memo from Western Area Power Administration leadership warning of skilled labor losses and risks to the power grid if bargaining is halted. This adds to broader union challenges alleging First and Fifth Amendment violations.
Read more: https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/11/ibew-trumps-anti-union-eos-target-unions-expressly-protected-law/409278/
