Landmark Bipartisan Vote: House Restores Collective Bargaining Rights for Hundreds of Thousands of Federal Workers

Nearly two dozen House Republicans joined Democrats this week to pass a bill restoring collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees, reversing an executive order President Donald Trump signed earlier this year.

The measure passed the House with a vote of 231-195 after utilizing a bipartisan “discharge” tactic that bypassed Republican leadership—a method growing more common as Republicans voice frustration over chamber dysfunction. While Senate approval remains necessary for the bill to become law, it marked a rare break by 20 Republicans who defied their party’s usual stance on the issue.

Trump’s March executive order sought to end collective bargaining for employees at federal agencies with national security responsibilities, claiming authority under a 1978 law to revoke these rights. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., a co-sponsor of the bill, stated on the floor that reinstating union rights was “not a concession; it is a commitment— a commitment to treat federal workers with dignity, to reinforce a resilient public service, and to honor the commitment of the men and women who show up for the American people every single day.”

The order targeted approximately 600,000 federal employees represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), including those at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. The AFGE has challenged the move in court, arguing it is illegal and retaliatory. An appeals court permitted the administration to proceed with the executive order while the lawsuit continued in May.

After Thursday’s vote, the AFGE expressed gratitude for congressional support, calling it a “seismic victory” and highlighting its president, Everett Kelley, praised lawmakers who backed the bill. The AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, commended the bipartisan effort: “We commend the Republicans and Democrats who stood with workers and voted to reverse the single largest act of union-busting in American history,” said Liz Shuler, the group’s president.

The bill advanced through a discharge petition led by Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine—a tactic requiring 218 House signatures that has been increasingly used this Congress amid frustrations with Republican leadership, including efforts to release classified documents from the Jeffrey Epstein case. All House Democrats supported the measure, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., stated it would help “public servants who have been targeted viciously by the Trump administration from the very beginning of his time in office.”

The vote represented one of the chamber’s first formal rebukes of President Trump’s executive orders during his second term. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., noted on the floor that “earlier this year, an executive order changed the collective bargaining status” and added, “Every American deserves a voice in the workplace, and that includes the people who keep our government running.”

Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, who switched parties during Trump’s first term, supported the bill but clarified he was not sending a message to the president: “No message here at all—this is simply a New Jersey message.” He emphasized his longstanding commitment: “I have always been supportive of unions and must take care of my people.”