BOP Terminates AFGE Contract Again Despite Court Order
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) terminated its collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) for a second time, just days after a federal judge ordered the contract to be reinstated through its 2029 expiration date.
Following the ruling from U.S. District Judge Vernon Oliver, BOP Director William K. Marshall III rescinded his first cancellation notice and issued a new one citing President Trump’s executive order excluding the Justice Department and other agencies from federal collective bargaining requirements on national security grounds.
“Based on the EO and as of the date of this notice, the Bureau of Prisons no longer recognizes the Counsel [sic] of Prison Locals, AFGE, as the exclusive representative for employees of the existing bargaining unit,” wrote Director Marshall.
Union, BOP Dispute Compliance
On September 29, Judge Oliver issued a preliminary injunction ordering the agency to reinstate its agreement with AFGE, finding that the union was likely to succeed in arguing that BOP’s original contract termination violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The judge pointed to conflicting explanations for the decision: Director Marshall had publicly described the union as an “obstacle to progress” and not the “kind of union” he supported, even as BOP cited the executive order in its termination notice.
AFGE subsequently requested to hold BOP leadership in civil contempt of court for refusing to abide by the preliminary injunction.
Union officials told the court that they had experienced “defiance” of the preliminary injunction with some wardens reportedly instructing union representatives to wait rather than comply with the ruling. The union also reported that an employee had been denied union representation during a disciplinary proceeding and subsequently fired.
BOP disputed the union’s allegations saying that they “diligently worked over the last week to ‘turn back on’ normal operations under the reinstated CBA” prior to the October 7 second termination of the contract.
The contract with AFGE Council of Prison Locals 33 covers about 30,000 BOP employees.
