Attorney General Bonta Files Amicus Brief Supporting Challenge to Trump Administration’s Attempt to Remove Collective Bargaining Rights

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, as part of a multistate coalition of 22 attorneys general, filed an amicus brief in American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), et al. v. Trump, et al., in support of a challenge to the Trump Administration's executive order that strips workers across many federal agencies of their collective bargaining rights. In the brief, the attorneys general strongly support the unions' lawsuit and urge the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to oppose the federal government's appeal of the preliminary injunction.

"I stand alongside attorneys general across the nation in full support of the unions challenging the Trump administration's unlawful and overreaching executive order," said Attorney General Bonta. "Once again, the Trump administration not only violated labor law but also retaliated against unions for exercising their First Amendment rights to advocate for fair treatment for their members. At the California Department of Justice, we remain unwavering in our commitment to protecting the rights of working Americans across this country."

On March 27, 2025, the President Donald Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14.251, entitled "Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs." In the Order, the President asserts that over 40 cabinet departments, agencies, and subdivisions across the federal government, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services, are involved with "intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work" such that the Federal Service Labor-Management Relation Statute (FSLMRS) could not be applied to those agencies consistent with national security considerations. FSLMRS grants federal employees collective bargaining rights and requires unions representing those employees and federal agencies to negotiate over certain terms and conditions of employment.

The American Federation of Government Employees, alongside other labor unions, filed a lawsuit challenging the President's EO, alleging that the Trump Administration retaliated against the unions in violation of their First Amendment rights and that the President acted beyond his legal authority under FSLMRS. On June 24, 2025, the district court issued a preliminary injunction against implementation of the Executive Order, finding that the plaintiffs had raised a serious question about a violation of their First Amendment rights, and that temporary injunctive relief was appropriate. The federal government appealed the preliminary injunction order on June 26, 2025. On August 1, 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of the preliminary injunction pending appeal.

In the amicus brief, the coalition urges the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to affirm the district court's preliminary injunction, arguing the harmful effects of the EO on resident federal employees of the amici states who rely on union representation to protect their workplace interests, and urging the court to reject the Administration's arguments that certain evidence of its retaliatory intent could not be considered.

In filing the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys generals of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

A copy of the brief can be found here.