Applaud EPA Workers Fighting to Restore Union Protections

The union representing more than 8,000 Environmental Protection Agency workers has filed a lawsuit seeking to restore its collective bargaining agreement after the EPA terminated the contract last year!

Two local unions of the American Federation of Government Employees filed the lawsuit against the EPA and Administrator Lee Zeldin. They allege that the agency unlawfully terminated the agreement without adequate justification and that the action was intended to suppress workers’ political dissent, violating their First Amendment rights. Those claims have not yet been adjudicated, and the EPA declined to comment on the pending litigation.

The collective bargaining agreement took effect in June 2024 and was intended to remain in place through June 2028. Among its provisions were protections related to scientific integrity, which the union says helped protect EPA employees from retaliation for their work.

The EPA terminated the agreement in August 2025, citing President Trump’s executive order excluding numerous federal agencies and workers from federal collective-bargaining requirements on national-security grounds. AFGE is now asking the court to restore the contract and the workplace protections it provided.

Add your name to applaud the EPA workers and their union for pursuing their legal challenge seeking to restore their collective bargaining agreement and workplace protections.