Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, HOUSE NEWS—Discharge petition that would advance ‘Protect America’s Workforce Act’ reaches threshold required for House vote, (Nov 18, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:AFL-CIO | American Federation of Government Employees
By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.
Two Republican Congressmen from New York provided the final signatures required to reach the threshold and nearly every Democratic member of the House signed.
Yesterday, Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) provided the 218th signature on Discharge Petition 6, a measure that would advance H.R. 2550, the Protect America’s Workforce Act, bipartisan legislation to restore collective bargaining rights for tens of thousands of federal workers. Nick LaLota, also from New York, provided the 217th vote.
H.R. 2550, a bill championed by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) and Jared Golden (ME-02), would reverse the March 27, 2025, executive order that stripped collective bargaining protections from workers across multiple federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, Justice, and Energy, as well as certain employees in other departments. That order, Lawler notes, affected approximately 67 percent of the federal workforce, “many of whom are veterans or career public servants in non—national security roles.”
If it passes, the AFL-CIO has noted, the bill would be the first legislation in this term to directly overturn a Trump administration executive order.
“Every American deserves the right to have a voice in the workplace, including those who serve their country every single day. Supporting workers and ensuring good government are not opposing ideas. They go hand in hand. Restoring collective bargaining rights strengthens our federal workforce and helps deliver more effective, accountable service to the American people,” said Congressman Lawler.
Praise for bipartisan effort. “The labor movement fought back against the largest act of union-busting in American history by doing what we do best: organizing. Working people built a bipartisan coalition to restore union rights to federal workers in the face of unprecedented attacks on our freedoms. We commend every Democrat and Republican who signed the discharge petition to bring the Protect America’s Workforce Act to a vote, but the fight isn’t over,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.
More than 70 percent of Americans support unions, the AFL-CIO notes. Nearly every Democratic member of the House signed the petition, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) noted, but like others, they praised the bipartisan effort.
“AFGE thanks Congressman Lawler for his courage in compelling a House vote on HR 2550, the Protect America’s Workforce Act, to restore collective bargaining rights across the federal government. Through the efforts of Congressman Lawler and his 217 like-minded bipartisan colleagues, the full House will get to vote on this critical measure that restores workplace rights first enacted nearly five decades ago. Collective bargaining gives employees a fundamental voice in making the government work better for the American people, and we thank Congressman Lawler for recognizing that America functions best when labor and management cooperate toward common goals. We urge House passage of the bill and swift approval by the Senate and the President,” said Dr. Everett B. Kelley, National President, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (AFGE).
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