Federal appeals court keeps union contract for 300K VA employees in place amid lawsuit
Source: Federal News Nework
Unions
Federal appeals court keeps union contract for 300K VA employees in place amid lawsuit
This legal battle focuses on a March 2025 executive order that eliminated collective bargaining at more than 20 agencies — including the VA.
Jory Heckman@jheckmanWFED
May 18, 2026 6:51 pm
5 min read
A federal appeals court is upholding a lower court’s decision to restore collective bargaining rights for most employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
A three-judge panel with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a ruling Monday, unanimously denied the VA’s emergency motion to stay a lower court’s preliminary injunction, which required the department to restore a union contract for more than 300,000 VA employees.
In March, a federal judge in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction ordering the VA to restore its labor contract with the American Federation of Government Employees’ National VA Council while the case continues. That contract covers more than 320,000 VA employees.
Weeks later, the VA told the court it restored the AFGE collective bargaining agreement, but court documents show the department continued to deny benefits and workplace protections to employees covered under the contract.
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Jory Heckman
Jory Heckman is a reporter at Federal News Network covering the Postal Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, IRS, big data and technology issues. Follow @jheckmanWFED
Read more: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/unions/2026/05/federal-appeals-court-keeps-union-contract-for-300k-va-employees-in-place-amid-lawsuit/