Congress restores federal workers' union rights, blocking Trump labor order

What it does

This bill nullifies an Executive Order issued on March 27, 2025, that would have excluded certain groups from federal labor-management relations programs. It restores the force and effect of all collective bargaining agreements between federal agencies and labor unions that were in effect as of March 26, 2025, and prohibits federal spending to implement the Executive Order.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is to void an Executive Order that would have restricted federal labor-management relations and to restore the force of existing collective bargaining agreements. This is a direct restoration of labor protections, not a new regulatory regime.

What the text implies

• Restores grievance and arbitration procedures in federal labor contracts that the Executive Order would have eliminated, affecting dispute resolution for millions of federal employees.
• Preserves negotiated wage scales, benefits, and working conditions locked into collective bargaining agreements, preventing unilateral agency action to modify terms.
• Blocks federal agencies from unilaterally withdrawing from labor-management consultation forums and dispute-resolution mechanisms established under existing contracts.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Federal employees and their unions retain collective bargaining rights and existing contract protections that would have been stripped by the Executive Order. The bill preserves workplace protections, grievance procedures, and negotiated wages and benefits for federal workers.

Named in the bill

Executive Branch Federal Agencies, Federal Labor Organizations, Federal Employees, Executive Order (March 27, 2025)

Where it stands

226 cosponsors: 217 Democrats, 9 Republicans.

• Apr 1, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Apr 1, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform”
• Dec 11, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 231 - 195 (Roll no. 332). (text: CR H5795)”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

31 lobbying clients named this bill on 58 disclosure filings across 6 quarters, Mar 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $13,317,878 in lobbying spend. A filing names 20 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 98% of bills with at least one filing.

Jared Golden, the sponsor, reported $304,979 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• United Steel Paper & Forestry Rubber Manufacturing Energy — $1,600,000 on 3 filings
• AFL-CIO — $1,520,000 on 2 filings
• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers — $1,425,000 on 2 filings
• American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees — $1,320,000 on 2 filings
• Service Employees International Union Ctw-clc — $1,091,000 on 4 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.