AFGE local unions sue EPA and Zeldin to restore collective bargaining contract

Suit alleges termination aimed at repressing political dissent

Two local unions of the American Federation of Government Employees sued the Environmental Protection Agency and Administrator Lee Zeldin on Tuesday, alleging the agency illegally terminated a collective bargaining agreement covering more than 8,000 EPA workers and was motivated by a desire to repress political dissent.

The lawsuit claims the agency failed to justify the contract’s termination and was motivated by a desire to repress political dissent, a violation of the employees’ first amendment rights. The contract, in effect since June 2024, was set to run through June 2028 and included a scientific integrity provision designed to protect workers at the agency from retaliation.

Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, about 4,000 workers have left the EPA through resignations, early retirements and layoffs, reducing the agency’s workforce to about 12,700 employees.

The EPA ended the collective bargaining agreement in August 2025, citing a Trump executive order issued earlier that year that sought to eliminate collective bargaining agreements for more than 1 million federal workers. The union is asking a court to restore the contract.

Justin Chen, president of AFGE Council 238, said the union’s members work as civil servants because they believe in the agency’s mission and in serving the public. “They believe in the kind of work that they do,” Chen said. “When they’re gagged and have no rights, they’re unable to serve the American public, they can’t do their jobs and they can’t serve the agency’s mission.”

“While the dedicated civil servants … are working hard every day to advance the Agency’s mission to protect human health and the environment, the Agency has turned its back on them, unlawfully eliminating their workplace protections and stifling their free speech rights,” the lawsuit states.

The EPA declined to comment, citing a longstanding practice of not commenting on pending litigation.

An arbitrator’s ruling earlier this month favored members of AFGE Local 704 in a dispute over the EPA’s disciplining of 139 workers who signed an open dissent letter, in violation of the local’s collective bargaining agreement. The arbitrator ordered the agency to wipe the workers’ records, provide back pay and cover the union’s attorney fees. Emails revealed a top EPA attorney had warned the agency about its legal risk.

“The protection of my members is incredibly important and paramount, quite frankly, to an effective civil service [and for] protecting the American public,” Chen said.

The lawsuit asks the court to restore the collective bargaining agreement. The complaint alleges the EPA’s termination was motivated by a desire to repress political dissent, in violation of the workers’ first amendment rights.