{"id":755,"date":"2026-08-11T07:34:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T07:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=755"},"modified":"2026-08-11T07:34:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T07:34:26","slug":"judge-rejects-vas-third-attempt-to-cancel-union-contracts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=755","title":{"rendered":"Judge rejects VA\u2019s third attempt to cancel union contracts"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Veterans Affairs Department for the third time this year has been admonished for attempting to terminate its contract with the nation\u2019s largest federal employee union.<\/p>\n

Read more USPS seeks funding from Congress to address long-term financial issues<\/a><\/p>\n

The saga traces back to President Trumps March 2025 executive order that banned collective bargaining at the VA and many other federal agencies under the auspices of national security. The department first moved to terminate its contract with the American Federation of Government Employees last August, only for U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose, a Biden appointee in Rhode Island, to issue an injunction unwinding that decision in March.<\/p>\n

In response to that decision, the VA issued a new termination notice to AFGE, which prompted an update to the injunction as well as the threat of contempt proceedings. A federal appeals court upheld most provisions of that order in May.<\/p>\n

But last month, the VA told the union it would again seek to terminate the agreement on Aug. 8, the date that the contract was initially set to expire. The union again asked for the court to intervene, arguing that because the department requested that the contract be reopened for negotiations, management triggered a rollover clause that automatically extends the contract\u2019s duration until a successor agreement can be reached.<\/p>\n

The VA for its part accused the union of refusing to meet for negotiations within 30 days of its request, despite a litany of written correspondence seeking to hash out the scope and ground rules for negotiations.<\/p>\n

Read more The government was ready to expand its voting security work. Then it pulled the plug<\/a><\/p>\n

In a published Friday, DuBose described VA\u2019s latest effort to debride itself of AFGE\u2019s collective bargaining agreement as \u201cin direct contravention\u201d of her prior orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe defendants\u2019 assertion that the plaintiffs failed to comply with the 30-day clock to begin negotiations and that this purported failure is a lawful basis on which to terminate the agreement, is not well-taken,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThe exhibits each party provided in support of their positions on this motion are chock full of correspondence between the parties directly related to the defendants\u2019 notice of intent to renegotiate the master CBA (rather than allow it to auto-renew as is on August 8).\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement Friday, AFGE National VA Council President Mary Jean Burke applauded the judge\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnions that represent federal employees have long been under attack,\u201d she said. \u201cWhy? Because we are the roadblock preventing the privatization of the agencies we swore to protect. No matter how many times we are kicked while we are down, we get back up, brush off the dirt and get right back in the fight because we believe in the VA\u2019s mission to serve our nation\u2019s veterans. Today\u2019s victory is proof that the law sides with AFGE\/NVAC because we fight for what is right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more What history tells us about the potential government shutdown<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose OK’d a motion to enforce her prior preliminary injunction preserving collective bargaining at the Veterans Affairs Department on the eve of its planned termination of a collective bargaining agreement with AFGE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-workforce"],"yoast_head":"\nJudge rejects VA\u2019s third attempt to cancel union contracts - Market Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=755\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judge rejects VA\u2019s third attempt to cancel union contracts - 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