More than 1 million federal workers may lose their collective bargaining rights after the Trump administration canceled their contracts at the Internal Revenue Service, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, and the Department of Energy in February and March.

A memo issued by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in February instructed agencies to act on executive orders the president signed in 2025 to nullify federal workers’ contracts. In response to these executive orders, the unions filed lawsuits that resulted in preliminary injunctions at the district court level maintaining their contracts — but the injunctions have since been overturned by federal appeals courts.

The success of the unions’ ongoing litigation depends in part on the courts deciding that the cases should be heard in federal court rather than by the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Appellate courts appear divided on the matter of jurisdiction, which could lead to U.S. Supreme Court intervention. If the courts rule that they have jurisdiction, unions will have to prove that President Donald Trump abused his national security powers and misapplied the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 in his executive orders. Labor observers said that without success in court, it will be harder for unions to block the administration’s efforts to reshape the federal workforce.

March 18