Trump’s Unionbusting Rebuked in the Courts

Not that I have a lot of faith, or any for that matter, in the courts, but still, you like to see this:

The Department of Veterans Affairs is restoring labor contracts with several of its unions, after a federal judge said the department was defying her order to do so.

The VA is restoring the collective bargaining agreements with six unions that represent a majority of its workforce — including the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 300,000 VA employees. The labor agreements will temporarily remain in effect while these cases proceed through the court.

AFGE’s National VA Council told its members in an email Thursday evening that VA’s Central Office is “instructing facilities to return to the status quo for all AFGE-represented employees,” including everyone covered by the master agreement before VA unilaterally terminated it on Aug. 5, 2025.

“It appears that VACO is finally providing guidance and instructing facilities to take immediate steps to comply with the court’s orders,” AFGE/NVAC wrote.

The restoration of the contract may be short-lived. The Justice Department notified the court last week that it has appealed its case to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which may decide to stay the lower court’s injunctions.

Last week, the VA re-terminated its master collective bargaining agreement with AFGE — a move that a federal judge in Rhode Island called “blatant disrespect” for her preliminary injunction to restore it.

We know in the end the Supreme Cout will do whatever Daddy Trump wants on unions. But you have to have the fight.