Senator Collins Calls on President Trump to Restore Federal Workers' Collective Bargaining Rights
PHOTO: Senator Susan Collins and Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Maine Senator Susan Collins sent a bipartisan letter this week to President Trump urging him to restore federal workers collective bargaining rights. The letter follows Senator Collins' earlier support for a Senate (Sen. Alsobrooks) amendment to restore collective bargaining rights.
On March 27, 2025, Pres. Trump issued an unconstitutional Executive Order that repealed collective bargaining rights and voided union contracts for the vast majority of federal workers. In Maine this has already caused most federal workers to lose the ability to pay their union dues through payroll deduction. Unions are challenging the Executive Order in challenged in court.
In the letter, co-authored with Sen. Murkowski, Schatz and Warner, Collins writes,
In many federal agencies, collective bargaining has served to strengthen and advance the mission of the agency by providing a structured channel for communication and addressing employee concerns. The presence of collective bargaining rights has created a more stable and productive workforce and has allowed the federal government to better meet the needs of our constituents.
We share your goal of streamlining federal operations and enhancing government efficiency, but believe that the March 27th EO impedes, rather than advances, efforts to make the federal government more efficient. Therefore, we respectfully request that you reconsider your executive order and restore federal workers’ collective bargaining rights.
The Maine AFL-CIO thanks Senator Collins for her letter. "We appreciate Senator Collins' support for federal workers having a voice on the job. Workers who care for our veterans, process our Social Security checks, service our submarines and keep our food safe deserve the right to bargain for a better life. Senator Collins is doing what is right for Maine workers. We hope more Senators will join this effort to restore collective bargaining," said Maine AFL-CIO Executive Director, Matt Schlobohm.
The letter follows good work in the US House of Representatives where Maine Congressman Jared Golden introduced bipartisan legislation, Protect America's Workforce Act, to repeal the Executive Order and restore collective bargaining rights.