Latest news with #NTEU
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US judge nixes Treasury's bid to cancel IRS workers' union contract
By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) -A federal judge has rejected a bid by the U.S. Treasury Department to cancel a union contract covering tens of thousands of IRS staff, an early blow to President Donald Trump's efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights for many federal workers. U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves in Lexington, Kentucky, said in a written opinion late Tuesday that the department lacked legal standing to bring a lawsuit against the National Treasury Employees Union. After Trump issued an executive order exempting Treasury and other agencies from union bargaining obligations, the agency sued an affiliate of the NTEU that represents Internal Revenue Service employees, to invalidate a bargaining agreement reached in 2022. Reeves, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush, dismissed the case, saying the lawsuit was premature because Treasury had not yet taken any steps to implement Trump's order. "This decision says nothing of the merits of the case," the judge wrote. "Had Treasury filed suit in response to an invasion or threatened invasion of its sovereign right to enforce [Trump's order], a different result likely would have been reached." A U.S. appeals court last week paused a ruling by a judge in Washington, D.C., that had blocked seven agencies including Treasury from implementing Trump's order in a lawsuit by the NTEU. The White House, the Treasury Department and the NTEU did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump in the executive order excluded from collective bargaining obligations agencies that he said "have as a primary function intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work". The order applies to the Justice, State, Defense, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services departments, among other agencies. The NTEU has said the order applies to about 100,000 of its 160,000 members. The Treasury Department sued the NTEU affiliate a day after Trump issued the order, seeking a declaration that gave Treasury the authority to end its bargaining relationship with the union. The department said that federal civil service law empowers the president to exempt agencies from bargaining when he deems it necessary to protect national security, and that courts lack the authority to review and second guess those determinations. NTEU and other federal worker unions have accused Trump of issuing the order to punish them for bringing legal challenges to a number of his policies. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., ruled in the NTEU's lawsuit in April that Trump had not adequately justified reversing decades of practice and exempting large swaths of the federal workforce from bargaining. But an appeals court panel in blocking that ruling said it was likely to be overturned on appeal. Eight federal agencies have filed a separate lawsuit against the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal worker union, seeking to invalidate existing union contracts covering thousands of workers. The union has moved to dismiss that case, with a hearing scheduled for June.
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US judge nixes Treasury's bid to cancel IRS workers' union contract
May 21 (Reuters) - A federal judge has rejected a bid by the U.S. Treasury Department to cancel a union contract covering tens of thousands of IRS staff, an early blow to President Donald Trump's efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights for many federal workers. U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves in Lexington, Kentucky, said in a written opinion late Tuesday that the department lacked legal standing to bring a lawsuit against the National Treasury Employees Union. After Trump issued an executive order exempting Treasury and other agencies from union bargaining obligations, the agency sued an affiliate of the NTEU that represents Internal Revenue Service employees, to invalidate a bargaining agreement reached in 2022. Reeves, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush, dismissed the case, saying the lawsuit was premature because Treasury had not yet taken any steps to implement Trump's order. "This decision says nothing of the merits of the case," the judge wrote. "Had Treasury filed suit in response to an invasion or threatened invasion of its sovereign right to enforce [Trump's order], a different result likely would have been reached." A U.S. appeals court last week paused a ruling by a judge in Washington, D.C., that had blocked seven agencies including Treasury from implementing Trump's order in a lawsuit by the NTEU. The White House, the Treasury Department and the NTEU did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump in the executive order excluded from collective bargaining obligations agencies that he said "have as a primary function intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work". The order applies to the Justice, State, Defense, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services departments, among other agencies. The NTEU has said the order applies to about 100,000 of its 160,000 members. The Treasury Department sued the NTEU affiliate a day after Trump issued the order, seeking a declaration that gave Treasury the authority to end its bargaining relationship with the union. The department said that federal civil service law empowers the president to exempt agencies from bargaining when he deems it necessary to protect national security, and that courts lack the authority to review and second guess those determinations. NTEU and other federal worker unions have accused Trump of issuing the order to punish them for bringing legal challenges to a number of his policies. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., ruled in the NTEU's lawsuit in April that Trump had not adequately justified reversing decades of practice and exempting large swaths of the federal workforce from bargaining. But an appeals court panel in blocking that ruling said it was likely to be overturned on appeal. Eight federal agencies have filed a separate lawsuit against the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal worker union, seeking to invalidate existing union contracts covering thousands of workers. The union has moved to dismiss that case, with a hearing scheduled for June.
Newsweek
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Donald Trump Scores Major Legal Win on Blocked Order
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump's administration secured a legal win on Friday when a federal appeals court lifted a lower court injunction that had blocked the president's plan to end unionizing rights for hundreds of thousands of federal workers in a case brought by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). Newsweek contacted the Department of Justice and the NTEU for comment on Saturday via online inquiry form and email respectively outside of regular office hours. Why It Matters With Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress the courts have emerged as arguably the most significant impediment to Trump administration policy. Since Donald Trump's second inauguration in January courts have blocked a number of his policies including a ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, the freezing of billions in foreign aid and on Friday the Supreme Court ruled against deporting Venezuelan nationals using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. What To Know Friday saw a U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit panel put on hold an injunction issued by a lower court blocking the implementation of an executive order issued by Trump in March on union rights in federal government. Trump's executive order removed more than a dozen federal agencies, including the departments of Defense, State, Treasury, Justice, Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services, from union bargaining obligations regarding their employees. A preliminary injunction blocking the executive order's implementation was then issued by U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman on April 25 in response to an NTEU legal challenge. President Donald Trump raises his fist after arriving on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 16, 2025, following a trip to the Middle East. President Donald Trump raises his fist after arriving on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 16, 2025, following a trip to the Middle East. SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY The NTEU argued Trump's order was in violation both of federal workers' labor rights and the U.S. Constitution. Friday's decision was made in a 2-1 ruling with the George H.W. Bush appointee Judge Karen Henderson, and first term Trump appointee Judge Justin Walker, ruling against the injunction while President Joe Biden appointee Judge Michelle Childs argued it should remain. According to court documents, around a million federal employees would be impacted by the executive order on union representation, which the NTEU said included around 100,000 of its members. What People Are Saying In their majority decision Judges Henderson and Walker said: "Preserving the President's autonomy under a statute that expressly recognizes his national-security expertise is within the public interest." Judge Childs argued the administration had only provided "vague assertions" about the initial injunction's national security implications. She added: "How can the Government argue that the district court injunction will cause irreparable injury when the Government itself voluntarily imposed that same constraint?" What Happens Next The NTEU has not said whether it plans to appeal Friday's ruling. If the ruling stands, and Trump's executive order goes into effect, hundreds of thousands of federal workers stand to lose union collective bargaining rights.
Washington Post
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Court lifts block on Trump order to strip federal workers of union rights
A federal appeals court on Friday lifted a block on an executive order from President Donald Trump that seeks to strip union rights from federal workers at dozens of agencies and offices. Trump in March issued an executive order that said that parts of the United States Code that protect federal workers' rights to organize and collectively bargain would no longer apply to agencies including most or all of the Departments of Treasury, Defense, Veterans Affairs, State and Justice. The executive order covers about two-thirds of the federal workforce, according to the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which filed a lawsuit challenging it.
ABC News
16-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Staff cuts and humanities department changes flagged at UTAS to address declining enrolments
The University of Tasmania (UTAS) will cut 13 arts and humanities staff and scrap dedicated tourism courses, as part of a proposed restructure. The university's proposal will merge the humanities and social sciences faculties into a single school, which would lead to some courses being discontinued. The 13 positions would be cut through targeted and voluntary redundancies. The restructure would also include dividing the School of Creative Arts and Media into two parts, and re-establishing the music conservatorium. The National Tertiary Education Union's (NTEU) Tasmanian secretary Ruth Barton told ABC Radio Hobart that university staff are feeling angry and disappointed. Professor Lisa Fletcher, UTAS Interim Academic Lead, College of Arts, Law and Education said financial challenges, workload issues, and declining student numbers in arts programs informed the decision to restructure. The ABC understands the university decided to discontinue the graduate certificate, graduate diploma and masters of tourism, environmental and cultural heritage in 2023. Professor Fletcher said the university is committed to delivering courses across the humanities, social sciences and creative arts. Undergraduate student Ally Brown is studying psychological sciences at UTAS, and a gender studies course. She said she felt the university's decision devalued and de-prioritised the arts and humanities faculties. "You feel a bit [on the] outer, for sure, doing a humanities degree because the uni doesn't care about it and UTAS isn't known for it," Ms Brown said. Dr Barton said students may be forced to move to the mainland to study subjects that aren't available locally. "If students want to do things like certain specialties or follow certain interests, their ability to follow those interests will be limited," she said. Ms Brown said this would be problematic due to the financial strain it may put on students. "A lot of people don't have the option to switch to a mainland uni financially," she said. There are a number of proposed changes to humanities and creative arts and media courses. The university has proposed to discontinue Asian Philosophy units in its Philosophy major, as well as Indonesian and German language studies. Up to three staff in the Arts department and one in the Theatre department will lose their jobs. Dr Barton said this decision was confusing for staff, as Tasmania has a prominent arts sector. Professor Fletcher said UTAS was committed to ensuring the continuation of arts — both creative and the humanities — in their proposal. "It is fundamental that we continue to offer those vital disciplines, not just for the career opportunities that they drive, but also because they lead to a better society," Professor Fletcher said. Dedicated tourism courses will also be cut. Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania (TICT) chief executive Amy Hills said she was disappointed UTAS would no longer have a dedicated tourism course. According to the state government, tourism contributes to $4.55 billion or 10.8 per cent of Tasmania's Gross State Product. The direct and indirect contribution of tourism in Tasmania to GSP is the highest in the country. "One in six Tasmanians are supported by the visitor economy," Ms Hills said. Professor Fletcher said students can still study a Bachelor of Business majoring in tourism or hospitality management. "Tourism is an important industry for Tasmania and the university continues to support the sector where we can add value," she said. The university's proposal will also see social work and psychology shift to the school of health. It would also see police and emergency management courses moved to paramedicine, with two roles within policing and emergency management to be axed. The university said it will carry out a four-week consultation period with staff about the proposed changes. Dr Barton said that the process is tokenistic. Ms Fletcher said the proposal period is "genuine".
