VA Must Honor Union Contract for Now, Appeals Court Rules
The First Circuit of Appeals says the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must continue to honor the agency’s contract with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) while the union’s lawsuit challenging the termination of the contract is pending. AFGE represents some 320,000 workers at VA.
The three-judge panel unanimously rejected the administration’s request for a stay of a district judge’s ruling in March that ordered the administration to temporarily reinstate the union contract.
The VA argued that it was likely to prevail in the case saying it would suffer “irreparable harm” by having to comply with the union contract while its appeal was adjudicated by the First Circuit.
However, the judges ruled that the defendants did not show the preliminary injunction was “likely issued in error.”
“Accordingly, we must separately account for the public’s interest in the CBA – which is provided for and governed by federal law – being kept in place as a binding agreement until lawfully terminated,” wrote Chief Judge David J. Barron.
Unions applauded the ruling.
“The true irreparable harm was to AFGE members who saw their rights taken away – and we’re pleased to see the First Circuit upheld those rights while the legal process plays out,” said American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National President Everett Kelley.
Broader Legal Challenges
The case is one of several challenging executive orders issued by President Donald Trump that sought to terminate many federal union contracts on national security grounds.
The legality of the executive orders rolling back collective bargaining rights is also under review by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
In a memo accompanying the initial executive order, the White House said President Trump “needs a responsive and accountable civil service to protect our national security.”
