AFGE Sues EPA to Restore Collective Bargaining Agreement

The American Federation of Government Employees filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Administrator Lee Zeldin to restore a terminated collective bargaining agreement. The union alleges the agency illegally ended the contract in August 2025, citing a Donald Trump executive order intended to eliminate collective bargaining for more than 1 million federal workers.

The contract, which began in June 2024 and was scheduled to run through June 2028, included a scientific integrity provision designed to protect workers from retaliation. The lawsuit claims the termination was an attempt to repress political dissent and violates the first amendment rights of employees.

This legal action follows a recent arbitrator ruling that ordered the EPA to provide back pay and clear the records of 139 workers who were disciplined for signing an open dissent letter. Since January 2025, the EPA workforce has decreased by approximately 4,000 employees through layoffs, resignations, and early retirements.