Federal Labor Relations Authority FLRA

Federal employee unions gained limited recognition under executive orders by President Kennedy in 1962 and President Nixon in 1969. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 put those rights into law in the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and created the Federal Labor Relations Authority, which began operating on January 1, 1979. It has three members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to five-year terms, no more than two from the same party.

The FLRA decides disputes over union elections, the scope of bargaining, unfair labor practices by agencies and unions, and exceptions to arbitration awards. Its General Counsel investigates and prosecutes unfair labor practice charges, and its Federal Service Impasses Panel resolves deadlocks in contract negotiations. Unlike private-sector workers, federal employees may not strike and generally cannot bargain over wages or benefits, which are set by law, so bargaining focuses on working conditions, procedures, and grievances.

On March 27, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order excluding agencies employing roughly two-thirds of the federal workforce from collective bargaining, citing a national security exception in the 1978 law, and agencies began canceling union contracts. Unions sued, and appeals courts allowed the order to take effect while litigation continued. In February 2026 the Ninth Circuit vacated a nationwide injunction against the order, while in May 2026 the First Circuit left in place a lower court order requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to restore one union contract. The President also removed an FLRA member before her term ended. Supporters said unions had obstructed management and accountability, while unions and their allies called it the largest rollback of federal worker rights since the law was passed.