President Trump to Sign Memo Lifting Biden-Era Collective Bargaining Agreements
President Donald Trump is expected to sign a memo on Friday to lift the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) that former President Joe Biden put into effect before leaving office. According to Fox News Digital, the president’s memo will direct federal agencies to reject last-minute CBAs issued by the Biden administration, which White House officials said were designed to “constrain” the Trump administration from reforming the government.
The memo prohibits agencies from making new CBAs during the final 30 days of a president’s term and directs agency heads to disapprove any CBAs that Biden put through during the final 30 days of his term. The White House said that collective bargaining agreements enacted before that time period will remain in effect while the Trump administration “negotiates a better deal for the American people.”
Biden’s Social Security Administration Commissioner, Martin O’Malley, came to an agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees in December 2024 guaranteeing that the agency’s 42,000 employees would not have to work in office during the Trump administration. The White House said that the new policy “ensures the American people get the policies they voted for, instead of being stuck with the wasteful and ineffective Biden policies rejected at the ballot box.”
The president’s memo is also aimed to ensure that federal government agencies operate under similar rules as private sector unions and employers. The memo comes after the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directed agency and department heads to notify employees of the return to in-person work order and offered buyouts to federal employees who do not want to return to the office.
The president’s move is expected to affect the federal government’s workforce, with many employees having to return to the office or face potential consequences. The White House has argued that the move is necessary to ensure that the Trump administration can implement its policies and make government more efficient.
