Numerous union affiliates have sued the Department of Defense, alleging that a memorandum issued earlier this year by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was unlawful and directed the termination of hundreds of union contracts nationwide.
The lawsuit was filed on July 6 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland by more than 20 union affiliates of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), all of whom argue that Hegseth’s actions carried out through an April 9, 2026, memo violated the Administrative Procedure Act in multiple ways—including terminations purportedly not based on reasoned decision-making required by law and misinterpreted based on the executive order in which they were derived.
Plaintiffs representing bargaining units comprised of tens of thousands of civilian DOD employees nationwide argue that hardworking federal employees, including veterans and members of military families, lost union rights for purposes of collective bargaining that they have had for 50-plus years across multiple presidential administrations and during wartime and peacetime alike.
Members represented by the plaintiffs have been protected by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) that DOD agencies had agreed to follow, which provide said workers with protections and benefits.
“Secretary Hegseth’s recent action to terminate DOD’s CBAs violates the Administrative Procedure Act,” the lawsuit states. “DOD continued to honor its CBAs for more than a year after the issuance of EO 14251, and DOD could continue to honor the CBAs now.
“Yet Secretary Hegseth’s April 9, 2026, memorandum reversed DOD’s policy to leave CBAs in place without any reasoned explanation for the reversal and directed that DOD agencies terminate their CBAs within just 24 hours without considering the reliance interests at stake and the chaotic disruptions that predictably resulted.”
The suit also states that while Executive Order 14251, issued March 27, 2025, and titled “Exclusions From Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs,” does not apply to any employees regardless of occupation at “local employing offices” where DOD police officers, security guards and firefighters serve, DOD agencies allegedly acted contrary to law by terminating CBAs at some of those offices for employees who are not in those work-related roles.
“Because DOD has acted arbitrarily and capriciously and in contravention of law, DOD’s actions, including Secretary Hegseth’s Memorandum, must be vacated and set aside,” the lawsuit adds.
The plaintiffs in this case are represented by Altshuler Berzon LLP and Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP.
A Pentagon official, when asked about the lawsuit and allegations therein, told Military.com that it does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation.
‘Insult’ to Military Service Members
In an April 26 statement, chief DOD spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth’s memo “ensures Department operations remain aligned with national security requirements and mission readiness.”
Affected agreements not subject to court order would be terminated within 24 hours, Parnell added, noting “limited exceptions as required by law.” The Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness issued supplemental guidance to support the memo’s implementation, in close coordination with DOD leadership and with legal and human resources officials “to ensure an orderly transition and full compliance.”
The memo and its directive are vehemently opposed by AFGE, the United States’ largest federal employee union that represents roughly 820,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.
AFGE President Everett Kelley said in a July 2 statement that Hegseth’s actions are an “insult to the hardworking men and women who serve our military.”
“In many cases, the affiliates have had contracts in place for more than 50 years before they were unlawfully terminated,” Kelley said. “As we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary, we should not be attacking those who help us protect our freedoms.
“In attacking DOD civilian employees, the administration is attacking veterans, military families, and the workers our war fighters rely on every day. This not only makes America less safe; it is antithetical to our values as a nation.”
NFFE President Randy Erwin, in his own statement, said that for decades DOD workers have had the right and ability to unionize without detriment to national security. Now, he argues, the opposite is true.
“The Trump administration unilaterally and illegally stripping collective bargaining rights from DOD workers only serves to weaken morale, harm recruitment and retention, and reduce accountability—jeopardizing our national security and the critical mission of the agency,” Erwin said.
“NFFE locals are proud to join their AFGE brothers and sisters in challenging the cancellation of their collective bargaining agreements, and we are confident the rule of law will prevail,” he added.
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