VA terminates most of its union contracts, appearing to disregard OPM guidance

The Veterans Affairs Department announced Wednesday that it is terminating most of its contracts with federal employee unions effective immediately, making it the first agency to formally implement President Trump’s executive order aimed at stripping two-thirds of the federal workforce of their collective bargaining rights.

Collective bargaining agreements between VA and the American Federation of Government Employees, National Association of Government Employees, National Federation of Federal Employees, National Nurses United and the Service Employees International Union have all been terminated, the department said.

In March, Trump signed an executive order citing a rarely used provision of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act to strip most federal workers of their collective bargaining rights under the auspices of national security. But unions have argued the edict—and its invocation of national security—are mere pretext for retaliating against labor groups for challenging the White House’s personnel policies in court, activities ostensibly protected by the First Amendment.

VA’s decision appears to violate April guidance—and assurances from the Justice Department to a myriad of judges—from the Office of Personnel Management instructing agencies not to formally terminate union contracts until “the conclusion of litigation” or until OPM issues additional guidance. By extension, it also clashes with the administration’s assurances to judges, borne out of that original OPM guidance, that agencies would wait. Unions have repeatedly noted that while those contracts remained in place as a technical matter, management across government have ended the automatic collection of union dues and ceased participation in negotiations, arbitration and other grievance procedures.


https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/08/va-terminates-most-its-union-contracts-appearing-disregard-opm-guidance/407274/