U.S. Representative Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) voted in favor of repealing an executive order from the Trump administration that removed collective bargaining rights from nearly one million federal workers.
Subramanyam, along with lawmakers from both parties, supported legislation aimed at reversing the March 27 executive order titled “Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs.” The order had targeted collective bargaining for unions within several major federal departments, including Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, Justice, and Energy. It also affected some employees in the departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Interior, and Agriculture.
“This administration has lived up to their promise to make federal workers ‘traumatically affected,’ with firings, reductions in force, and the closure of whole offices within departments. The president’s executive order stripping collective bargaining rights from federal workers was another insult to thousands of our neighbors who are civil servants,” said Rep. Subramanyam. “Repealing this executive order will ensure federal workers maintain their right to fight for competitive pay and benefits. We want to retain these hardworking employees who could be making more money in the private sector, and collective bargaining is a key component of retention.”
The new legislation, called the Protect America’s Workforce Act, would repeal the executive order entirely and require that union contracts existing at the time remain honored by the federal government.
Rep. Subramanyam added: “The Senate must pass this bill as soon as possible to restore workers’ rights to thousands of federal employees.”
