Golden, Jeffries Join Federal Unions in Urging Congress to Force Vote to Overturn Trump’s Anti-Union Executive Order

Congressman Jared Golden was joined on Thursday by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and other federal union leaders and Members of Congress to push for a vote on H.R. 2550, the Protect America’s Workforce Act of 2025.  

VIDEO: Watch the press conference

The bill, sponsored by Golden, would nullify President Trump’s March 27 Executive Order ending collective bargaining rights for roughly 1 million unionized federal employees across several agencies. Golden is spearheading a discharge petition for the bill, which allows a majority of the House to force an up-or-down vote on a piece of legislation if a majority of members of Congress sign on.

Since Golden introduced the bipartisan bill in April, it has garnered bipartisan support from 222 members of Congress — including seven Republicans — exceeding the threshold necessary to pass the bill if it were brought to the floor for a vote. To date, the GOP majority has made no effort to call the vote.

“I know that everyone who cosponsored this legislation, no matter their party, did so because they know workers' rights are worth defending,” Golden said. “They know that when workers collectively bargain, the result is a fairer workplace with dignity and respect. They know the president’s executive order undermines core American values and leaves workers open to unfair treatment and political interference."

Leader Jeffries said, the legislation "should be fully aired in a debate on the Floor of the House of Representatives and must pass to protect the right to organize."

“Congress approved the right for federal workers to collectively bargain more than 60 years ago," said Alana Schaeffer, President of the Portsmouth Metal Trades Council,  which represents 3,600 federal blue-collar workers at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. "The Protect America’s Workforce Act reaffirms the essential role federal unions have played for decades: fostering safe, stable, and accountable workplaces that are vital not just to worker wellbeing, but to national security itself.”