Treasury Department Ends Union Contracts Amid Federal Workforce Control Efforts
By FATIMA HUSSEIN
The Treasury Department has taken a significant step by ending its collective bargaining agreement with unionized workers at the Internal Revenue Service. This move marks an intensification of President Donald Trump’s initiative to exert greater influence over the federal workforce.
This week, the union contract for the Bureau of the Fiscal Service was also terminated, according to anonymous sources familiar with the situation. These sources were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Employees at the IRS and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, responsible for handling government payments, are represented by the National Treasury Employees Union. The union members were informed by agency leadership that their collective bargaining agreements had been terminated, citing an executive order President Trump signed last March as the basis for these actions.
In a communication to IRS personnel on Friday, seen by The Associated Press, IRS Chief Human Capital Officer Alex Kweskin emphasized that this decision “deepens our commitment of operating as one IRS, a collaborative team focused on serving American taxpayers.”
The termination of these contracts follows a directive from Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management. Earlier this month, he issued a memo urging agency heads to adhere to Trump’s March order and inform labor unions of the termination of any applicable collective bargaining agreements.
The union had previously filed a lawsuit against the federal government challenging Trump’s executive order. While a D.C. court initially issued a preliminary injunction against the government, the injunction was stayed pending an appeal. In a related case, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued a decision on Thursday that facilitates the execution of Trump’s executive order.
Doreen Greenwald, president of the Treasury employees union, expressed in a statement on Friday that the IRS “cannot unilaterally end” its agreement with the union. She highlighted that federal sector labor laws require the IRS to maintain a collective bargaining agreement “with the exclusive representative of its bargaining unit employees.”
The National Treasury Employees Union currently represents approximately 150,000 employees across 37 departments and agencies.
Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper contributed to this report.
