Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LABOR NEWS—HHS becomes latest federal agency to call for elimination of unions representing its employees, (Aug 25, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:American Federation of Government Employees | National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees | National Treasury Employees Union | United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America
By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.
A department spokesperson announced the move to the press, rather than to the unions themselves, according to AFGE.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) became the latest federal agency to announce its intention to strip thousands of its employees of their collective bargaining rights. The move is expected to impact employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), among others. Employees are represented by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU); American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE); National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees; and the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America.
“By implementing President Trump’s Executive Order 14251, HHS is removing unnecessary obstacles to mission-critical work and space previously used for union activities. This change strengthens our ability to respond rapidly to public health threats, advance national security, and deliver results for the American taxpayer,” an HHS spokesperson stated of the change.
Union response.According to AFGE, the press heard this announcement before it had been communicated to the unions themselves. Five AFGE locals are impacted.
“After canceling union contracts less than two weeks after a targeted attack on CDC staff that resulted in the tragic loss of a brave police officer, HHS is moving forward with the illegal firings of hundreds of CDC employees—many of them the very public health professionals the nation depends on in a crisis,” said AFGE Local 2883 President Yolanda Jacobs.
“Tearing up our contracts is a disservice to every American who benefits from the programs and services our members deliver. But let me be clear: our union isn’t going anywhere,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley.
AFGE emphasizes that strong union contracts are not an “obstacle” to emergency response but instead are “what ensures that CDC and NIOSH maintain a stable, experienced, and supported workforce.” By simultaneously moving to “de-recognize” AFGE and carrying out a reduction in force, the union explains, HHS has left CDC and NIOSH with “[f]ewer experts to lead disease response and violence prevention,” “[a] decimated and demoralized workforce that has already been traumatized by recent campus violence,” and “no plan to replace the essential functions now lost.”
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