Internal NFFE News
December 4, 2025
Yesterday, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) sent a letter to leaders in the both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to urge Congress to keep an amendment to the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2026 which would restore collective bargaining rights for civil servants employed by the Department of Defense (DOD).
The letter was cosigned by the Federal Workers Alliance (FWA), a coalition of labor unions representing civil service workers across the federal government, supporting the amendment filed in response to the Trump Administration’s sweeping Executive signed in March stripping DOD workers of their union rights based on national security grounds.
The letter argues the Executive Order is counterproductive, costly, and exceeds the White House’s authority under federal law: “The EO would deprive agencies of opportunities to engage constructively with their workforce to support mission readiness, improve efficiency, and strengthen national defense and economic security.”
“Federal employees have been permitted by law to form and join unions for over 100 years,” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “For decades, DOD employees have been collaborating with management to ensure the agency is productive, safe, and maintains the readiness of our nation’s military. Members of Congress of both parties agree DOD workers should have their collective bargaining rights honored, which is why this amendment was included in the House-passed NDAA. I look forward to the final NDAA conference report and the law passed including the restoration of union rights for defense workers.”
FWA Letter to Congress re House NDAA (H.R. 3838) Section 1110