Trump Administration Moves To Eliminate Bureau Of Prisons Union

Trump Order Eliminates Collective Bargaining in Bureau of Prisons

President Trump has issued an Executive Order eliminating collective bargaining rights for federal unions, including those representing Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees. Using the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA), the order excludes DOJ agencies (including the BOP) from the Federal Labor-Management Relations Program, effectively stripping unions of their right to negotiate on behalf of employees. The order cites unions as obstructing agency management, justifying their exclusion from Chapter 71 of the U.S. Code, which previously granted unions their authority.

One of those agencies falling under the order is the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) that is still reeling from staffing shortages, poor morale and calls for privatization of prisons, while having no director or acting director.

Last week, Trump signed an Executive Order using authority granted by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) to end collective bargaining with Federal unions, including those representing government workers under the Department of Justice. The order stated, “The CSRA enables hostile Federal unions to obstruct agency management. The order provided exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs from certain parts of government, including the Department of Justice (BOP falls under DOJ).” The order exempted any Agency which is involved in intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative or national security work from the provisions of Chapter 5 United States Code, Title 71, the Labor-Management Relations statute.

A Contentious Relationship

Each month, Labor Management Relations (LMR) meetings take place between the BOP’s union, American Federal Government Employees Council 33, and executive management at every prison. Many times, these meetings are constructive but there are complexities in running an agency with 36,000 employees. Often, the union members who primarily are the face of the agency to the prisoners they watch over, feel disconnected from management according to union representatives I spoke with about this situation.

However, there are also opportunities for management and front line staff, primarily represented by unions, to sit down and discuss issues facing the prison complex where they work. Staffing issues and crumbling infrastructure are often topics of discussion. With elimination of these meetings, some worry that it will further erode the chasm between management and staff. Brandy Moore, National President of the National Council of Prison Locals 33, put out a statement that “By dismantling these forums, the Administration is effectively eliminating the structured communication channels that have historically helped agencies avoid conflict, implement policy changes more effectively, and maintain workforce stability.”

Jon Zum, Council 33 President at FCI Thomson (Illinois) told me that “Instead of addressing the critical staffing crisis plaguing the BOP, this administration has chosen to target the dedicated men and women who risk their lives daily to maintain order in our nation’s correctional facilities.”

It is a Dangerous Job

Aaron McGlothin, President of a local chapter of AFGE Council 33, representing officers at the Federal Correctional Institution at Mendota, California, recently was interviewed on Federal News Network about his members’ responsibility at the prisons, McGlothin said, “Every time we walk into that prison and we walk into the secure confines of the facility we have to be on guard at all times, because typically our correctional officers there’s one officer working in a housing unit with 120, 130 violent offenders. We always have to be on our A-game and be cognizant and vigilant of our surroundings. I always say that no two days are the same.”

Last year, a corrections officer at USP Atwater died as a result of opening an incoming mail envelope that was soaked in fentanyl, contraband that is also dangerous for staff had it got into the prison. While a group of inmates and outside accomplices were arrested in that case, each day there is growing concern of the dangers these workers face. Others have also lost their life in the line of duty. Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati-Casañas, a BOP Correctional Officer at a was murdered in February 2013 after a group of inmates targeted him for consistently searching for contraband in the facility and challenged the gang leadership at the MDC Guaynabo in Puerto Rico.

Putting Up A Fight

The AFGE and Council 33 are both committed to fighting this action. Brandy Moore stated that this Executive Order will have an “undeniable and harmful effect” on the morale of BOP staff. This comes at a time when correctional facilities are grappling with critical staffing shortages, rising inmate violence, and elevated stress levels among staff, removing institutional support and protections will further exacerbate these issues. Moore’s fear is that “… many dedicated professionals will be driven away from public service, and the Bureau will struggle to attract and retain qualified personnel under such unstable and unsupportive conditions.”

AFGE president Everett Kelley indicated that this is heading to court. “AFGE is preparing immediate legal action and will fight relentlessly to protect our rights, our members, and all working Americans from these unprecedented attacks,” Everett said.

Finding The Right Judge

In an effort to find a favorable judge, the Trump administration filed a law suit in the Western District of Texas (Waco) to authorize the government agencies named in the Executive Order to “rescind or repudiate” some collective bargaining agreements with the AFGE because they “significantly constrain the Executive Branch” in its push to purge the federal workforce and exert greater control over agency operations. The case landed on the docket of a very favorable judge for Trump, U.S. District Judge Alan Albright, a Trump appointee.

U.S. District Judge Alan Albright is a Trump appointee with a history of supporting conservative legal challenges. If the case escalates, it could land in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, known for its right-leaning rulings, and ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court. With multiple legal challenges to Trump’s Executive Orders expected, this decision could have broad implications for the future of federal labor rights.

It is illegal to choose a judge, known as “judge shopping,” a practice by which litigants exploit quirks in the structure of the federal judiciary to evade random assignment and instead hand-pick judges who are sympathetic to their ideological goals. There has been no filing accusing the Trump administration of judge shopping at this time but one person close to the lawsuit who chose not to be named said that the Albright court was a concern.