Union Built PC
State of the Unions
We are coming up on the ONE year anniversary of the Trump administration (three to go!). It’s time to take an assessment. It’s quite clear that Unions have been under attack and workers have suffered.
Below we summarize, with citations, how workers have suffered
and how labor unions have been attacked during 2025 under the Trump
administration. We list concrete mechanisms (policy moves, agency actions, and
outcomes observed in reporting and court filings). For the most important
claims we include citations to reputable coverage or primary sources.
How workers have suffered in 2025:
- Loss or rollback of collective-bargaining rights for many federal employees.
— The administration issued executive orders exempting agencies with
“national security” missions from federal collective-bargaining
requirements and pushed to end bargaining for certain federal workforces,
removing or sharply limiting bargaining over pay, schedules, and workplace
protections. The White House+1 - Immediate disruption of existing negotiated contracts (federal workers).
— The Department of Homeland Security moved to invalidate a
collective-bargaining agreement covering tens of thousands of TSA
officers; unions have characterized this as a direct removal of negotiated
wages/terms and have sued. This produced uncertainty about pay practices
(e.g., dues withholding) and benefits. Reuters - Weakened enforcement of labor laws and stalled NLRB casework.
— NLRB functioning was impaired (lack of quorum and contested
appointments), leaving many union election results and
unfair-labor-practice complaints unresolved for extended periods —
effectively denying timely remedies to workers. Reporting documents delays
and low morale at the agency. The Guardian+1 - Greater use of independent-contractor classifications (gig/work-flex erosion of
protections).
— The Department of Labor signaled it will stop enforcing a Biden-era
independent-contractor rule and move to rescind it, making it easier for
employers to classify workers as contractors and thereby avoid
minimum-wage, overtime, and benefits obligations. That increases precarity
and reduces access to workplace protections. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP+1 - Higher risk of layoffs and rollbacks of DEI and jobs tied to public-interest
programs.
— Reports connect the administration’s push against DEI programs and
structural changes at institutions to targeted layoffs and diminished
protections for certain worker cohorts (journalists of color and those in
DEI roles), increasing job insecurity for affected groups. The Guardian - Legal uncertainty and prolonged litigation that delays relief for workers.
— Multiple executive actions and agency rule changes have produced
litigation (e.g., challenges to EOs, NLRB rulings), leaving workers in
limbo while courts and agencies sort disputes. The practical effect is
delayed or denied remedies for labor violations. Bloomberg Law+1
How Labor Unions have been attacked in 2025:
- Executive orders restricting or eliminating bargaining for selected federal
agencies.
— The White House issued an EO exempting agencies with national-security
missions from collective bargaining, directly narrowing union scope and
bargaining leverage. Unions and legal advocates describe this as an
administrative campaign to curb federal union power. The White House+1 - Administrative invalidation of negotiated contracts (federal sector).
— DHS’s move to annul the TSA collective-bargaining agreement is an
explicit administrative step that undermines unionized bargaining outcomes
and sets a precedent for other contract rollbacks. Unions have pledged
legal challenges. Reuters - Political appointments and removals that neutralize labor-enforcement agencies (NLRB
paralysis).
— The administration’s appointments, removals, and delays have left the
NLRB without a stable quorum at times, preventing the Board from issuing
rulings or enforcing decisions — a structural way to blunt union
organizing and enforcement of unfair-labor-practice rules. The Guardian+1 - Regulatory rescission or non-enforcement (independent-contractor/gig rules).
— By moving to rescind or stop enforcing Biden-era DOL rules that made it
easier to classify gig workers as employees, the administration reduces a
major pathway unions and worker advocates use to secure employee status
and collective protections. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP+1 - Litigation and novel legal theories to limit union power.
— The administration’s policies and certain court challenges (including
high-profile litigation over the scope of executive power and NLRB
authority) create legal tests that, if resolved for the government, could
weaken statutory protections and unions’ ability to compel bargaining or
win remedies. Coverage shows cases moving through courts (e.g., DC
Circuit) that test these claims. Bloomberg Law+1 - Political and ideological pressure on institutions (DEI and staffing changes).
— Broader pressure to dismantle DEI initiatives and restructure agencies
has translated into layoffs, staff changes, and reduced institutional
support for union-friendly policies inside both public and private
organizations — a diffuse but real constraint on union organizing and
representation. The Guardian - Congressional pushback and counter-moves (context — not a protection).
— Note: unions and their allies have had some legislative responses (e.g.,
the House moved to nullify certain EOs), which shows active contestation
rather than a one-way success for the administration. But the existence of
countermeasures underscores how far policy shifts have gone and how much
litigation/legislation is required to restore prior protections. AFL-CIO+1
- The pattern in 2025 has been:
- (1) executive and administrative actions that
remove or limit collective-bargaining and worker protections, - (2) regulatory non-enforcement or rescission (notably around
independent-contractor classification) - (3) personnel and appointment strategies that blunt labor-enforcement agencies’ capacity to act.
Together these produce both immediate harms (invalidated contracts,
stalled NLRB remedies, layoffs) and longer-term structural weakening of
union leverage. Several lawsuits and congressional responses are ongoing,
so the legal and policy terrain remains contested. The White House+2Reuters+2
Pete Marchese
Director of Operations
Union Built PC Inc, CWA
