The House Armed Services Committee has voted to block implementation of an anti-union EO, and any related guidance, as it applies to DoD, the government’s largest department. Image: Katherine Welles/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffA federal appeals court has refused to block implementation of President Trump’s executive order to strip the majority of federal employees of union representation rights, but an effort against the order on Capitol Hill has made a notable advancement.
In the court proceeding, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has refused consideration by all the court’s judges of an earlier ruling by a three-judge panel that had stayed a trial judge’s injunction in a case brought by the NTEU union. The appeals court did not explain its decision, although one judge wrote that while the government “fell short of its burden to show its own irreparable harm absent a stay pending appeal,” the case did not satisfy “the high threshold for review by our full court.”
The case is continuing before the trial judge, however, with the NTEU recently asking that court to issue summary judgment that the order—which repudiates existing contracts and bars further bargaining in a wide range of agencies—exceeded a President’s authority to ban union representation in parts of the government by citing national security and related grounds.
NTEU said it “was prepared for this outcome” and that it expects a ruling by the judge on its motion—and a counter one from the Justice Department—during the summer. A different federal appellate court meanwhile has temporarily lifted an injunction from a trial judge in a similar case brought by the AFGE union; fuller arguments in that appeals court are pending.
The status of those challenges—widely viewed as ultimately heading to the U.S. Supreme Court—could have a significant impact in agency RIFs and reorganizations by disavowing commitments agencies have made in contracts to soften the impact on employees of those actions.
Another short-term impact likely will fall on unions themselves, with agencies stopping deductions of union dues from employees’ pay. Unions have been urging members to switch to paying dues directly through electronic deposits.
Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee has voted to block implementation of that order, and any related guidance, as it applies to DoD, the government’s largest department. The committee voted 30-27 in favor of that amendment, with three Republicans crossing party lines to vote with Democrats, and then the committee approved the host bill by 55-2, sending it for a floor vote.
During floor voting, an effort could be made to expand that ban government-wide. That vote may not come until September, though, since the House is due to soon take its annual recess through Labor Day. The issue would then be before the Senate, with a final decision to be made in a conference between the two chambers.
By adding the provision to the DoD authorization—one of the few annual “must-pass” bills—sponsors have followed a common path of using that measure as a vehicle for provisions that would not be enacted standing on their own.
Separately, those sponsors are pushing to use a legislative maneuver called a discharge petition to force a House vote on a standalone bill to block the executive order government-wide. Like the committee amendment, that bill has some Republican support: seven of the 222 co-sponsors. A discharge petition requires the signature of a majority of House members, which would be achieved if all the co-sponsors sign it.
While President Trump doubtless would veto the bill should it pass both the House and Senate, a House vote in favor would send a signal for its position to take on the DoD bill.
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