Posts tagged National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service
Union Lawsuit Challenges NASA National Security Rebrand
October 27, 2025 // The IFPTE lawsuit, filed earlier this month, challenges the White House’s assertion that national security is NASA’s “primary function,” adding that NASA has been collectively bargaining with IFPTE local unions for over 60 years and “at no time has such bargaining ever been questioned as inconsistent with national security.” It argues that President Donald Trump’s actions exceed his authority and unfairly target the union, which has publicly protested the administration’s cuts at the agency. IFPTE represents approximately 6,000 employees at NASA. The lawsuit follows an August executive order that bars some agencies — including NASA and parts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — from engaging in collective bargaining on the grounds that negotiating union contracts could hinder agencies’ ability to operate effectively and quickly, creating a national security risk.
A fresh executive order aims to ban unions at more federal agencies
September 3, 2025 // The targeting of additional agencies and their respective unions comes as the Trump administration has begun formally terminating collective bargaining agreements at more than half a dozen agencies, despite assuring federal judges that such a step wouldn’t be taken until the conclusion of litigation surrounding the executive order. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this week signaled that it will consider reversing a prior decision to allow the edict to go into effect.