FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Matt Dorsey
(202) 550-6987
October 29, 2025
Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, a coalition of House Republicans sent a letter to both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees urging the restoration of collective bargaining rights for federal workers employed by the Department of Defense (DoD). Since President Trump signed an executive order in March excluding DoD employees and other federal workers from exercising their union rights based on a national security exemption, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) has been seeking Congressional support to restore collective bargaining rights.
The letter strongly urges the retention of Section 1100 from the House-enacted FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act, an amendment which would allow DoD employees to collectively bargain, as they have under presidents of both parties for a number of years.
“Denying [DoD] workers a voice in the workplace does not enhance national security – it potentially jeopardizes it by eroding morale, diminishing retention, and weakening accountability,” the letter reads. “For more than six decades, federal employees, including those working in national security contexts, have exercised collective bargaining rights without compromising readiness or mission success. Supporting collective bargaining is therefore not only pro-worker, it is pro-security, pro-efficiency, and pro-accountability.”
“It is critical that Congress understands the role of union rights as it pertains to the Defense Department, as well as the federal government as a whole,” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “I am glad to see growing bipartisan support for union rights and workplace protections for the civil service. Thank you to the GOP members who have taken a stance to support federal workers and the rule of law. NFFE looks forward to working with members of both parties and both chambers to ensure federal workers have their right to collectively bargain restored.”