House Democrats are pressing this week to restore union rights to hundreds of thousands of federal employees who lost their collective bargaining powers under an executive order signed by President Trump earlier in the year.
The Democrats are urging lawmakers in both parties to endorse a procedural gambit, known as a discharge petition, to force a vote on bipartisan legislation that would repeal Trump’s order and return negotiating rights to those workers.
“This country needs stronger unions, not weaker ones,” Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), the sponsor of the legislation, told reporters in the Capitol. “We know if this bill comes to the House floor, we can win.
“Let’s just have a vote.”
Golden is also the sponsor of the discharge petition aiming to compel a vote on his bill, even against the wishes of GOP leaders who have refused to consider it.
The fight is bipartisan. Golden’s proposal has been endorsed by 221 other House lawmakers, including co-sponsor Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and six other Republicans. And the discharge petition already has two GOP signatures attached: Fitzpatrick and Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.).
To force a vote on the bill requires 218 signatures, meaning supporters will need four more Republicans to endorse the petition for it to be successful, assuming all 212 House Democrats sign on.
Golden said he’s in conversations with the other Republican co-sponsors of the underlying bill — singling out New York Reps. Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota by name — in hopes of getting them to endorse the petition, as well.
“I’m pretty hopeful that they’ll get there,” Golden said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is joining the push, decrying Trump’s move as an “unprecedented assault” on organized labor and challenging Republicans — who say they are now the party of the working class — to sign onto the petition.
“The Speaker of the House has often said that the House should be able to work its will,” Jeffries said. “We agree.”
In March, Trump issued an executive order prohibiting collecting bargaining for hundreds of thousands of federal employees across 18 federal agencies, including the departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services.
In a fact sheet accompanying the announcement, the White House said certain unions “have declared war on President Trump’s agenda” and the change was necessary to protect national security.
“President Trump is taking action to ensure that agencies vital to national security can execute their missions without delay and protect the American people,” the fact sheet reads. “The President needs a responsive and accountable civil service to protect our national security.”
Critics of the executive order have rejected the White House claim out of hand, noting that many of the affected federal employees work in industries that directly bolster the Armed Services and border security.
“They claim it endangers national security. That’s outrageous, and it’s just plain wrong,” said Matt Biggs, the head of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. “What that executive order does — actually, it’s contrary, we’re living in a kind of Orwellian country right now. It’s actually going to hurt national security.”