03-04-2025
Fitzpatrick says Trump order cutting union contracts 'weakens' national security
A bipartisan bill cosponsored by Bucks County Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick seeks to stop an executive order ending collective bargaining agreements from over a dozen federal departments.
The March 27 order from President Donald Trump stripping hundreds of thousands of federal workers of their ability to negotiate working conditions would weaken national security, Fitzpatrick and other lawmakers say.
'Improving government efficiency is essential — but sweeping exclusions from collective bargaining are a blunt instrument that risk weakening the very stability and performance we aim to strengthen,' Fitzpatrick said in a news release Tuesday.
'We can defend our national security without silencing those who serve it. Efficiency and fairness are not mutually exclusive — and this legislation ensures we uphold both,' Fitzpatrick added.
The Middletown legislator representing Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District joined Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, of Maine, to introduce the Protect America's Workforce Act to reverse the Trump order currently being challenged in court by a union representing more than 150,000 government employees.
The order impacted roughly 67% of the federal workforce across the Departments of Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, Justice and Energy and certain employees in the Departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Interior and Agriculture, the release says.
The same day Trump signed the order, eight federal agencies filed lawsuits against dozens of local union affiliates to invalidate existing contracts.
In a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon, Fitzpatrick joined seven other Republican congressmen from across the county, including Reps. Rob Bresnahan Jr., PA-8, and Chris Smith, NJ-4, urging Trump to 'reconsider' the executive order.
Chris Ullery can be reached at cullery@
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Republicans urge Trump to reconsider union bargaining executive order
