U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Mike Lee have introduced the Federal Workforce Freedom Act, a legislative proposal aimed at ending collective bargaining agreements between federal agencies and labor unions. The senators argue that these agreements negatively impact productivity, increase labor costs, and reduce investment.
Senator Blackburn expressed support for the Trump administration’s recent decision to terminate collective bargaining at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), stating: “Nearly 200 TSA officers employed at the taxpayers’ expense spend their workdays focused on matters important to labor unions instead of keeping Americans safe, and I applaud the Trump administration’s action to help make our government more efficient.” She emphasized that the proposed legislation seeks to ensure that “the federal government is working on behalf of the American people – not labor unions – by increasing the productivity of its workforce.”
Senator Lee echoed this sentiment by highlighting differences between public servants and private sector employees. He stated: “Public servants are not like private sector employees. They should not be able to collectively bargain for leverage over their employers because they work for the American people.” He noted historical opposition from leaders such as FDR against public sector collective bargaining.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 25.3% of federal employees are union members, with major organizations including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and others. These unions are supported through automatic dues deductions from employee paychecks, a process criticized for imposing administrative costs on taxpayers.
Unions have facilitated telework arrangements among federal workers, exemplified by a five-year contract secured by AFGE with the Social Security Administration in December 2024. Furthermore, union representatives currently conduct union business during work hours, which cost taxpayers approximately $135 million in Fiscal Year 2019 due to time spent away from official duties.
The Federal Workforce Freedom Act proposes several measures: repealing existing statutory frameworks governing federal labor relations; prohibiting federal employees from participating in unions for collective bargaining purposes; banning agency negotiations with unions; and terminating all existing collective bargaining agreements.
