The battle for federal labor rights has moved from the courtroom to the conference room, and the directive from Washington is clear: stop waiting and start dismantling.
As reported by FEDweek, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has officially directed federal agencies to proceed with canceling or amending collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) that conflict with recent executive orders. In a memo issued February 17, 2026, OPM instructed agency heads to disregard ongoing litigation aimed at blocking these moves and implement Executive Orders 14251 and 14343 immediately.
For the vast majority of the federal workforce, this directive effectively attempts to erase the union contract as a workplace protection. It strips away rights to official time, independent grievance procedures, and onsite representation. If you have relied on your union steward to protect your job or investigate a workplace issue, that safety net is being deconstructed in real-time.
🏛️ The Directive: “Proceed to Terminate”
The OPM guidance is blunt. It directs agencies to take aggressive, immediate steps to derecognize union authority in day-to-day operations.
Key Actions Mandated by the Memo:
- Cancel Contracts: Agencies are instructed to terminate or renegotiate any CBA terms that are “inconsistent” with the executive orders—which broadly define collective bargaining as an impediment to government efficiency.
- Evict and Reclaim: Agencies must “reclaim any agency space, furniture, equipment… previously utilized by labor unions.” This means union offices inside federal buildings are to be shuttered.
- End Official Time: Employees can no longer use taxpayer-funded time to conduct union business. If you are a union rep, you must now do that work off the clock or not at all.
- Bar Representatives: The memo instructs agencies to bar union representatives from Weingarten meetings—the crucial investigative interviews that can lead to disciplinary action.
📉 Sound Data: The Scale of the Disruption
To understand the magnitude of this shift, you must look at the numbers OPM is targeting. This is not a minor policy tweak; it is a systemic shutdown of labor relations infrastructure.
- 85% of the Unionized Workforce: The orders target roughly 1 million federal employees, representing about 85% of the unionized workforce. Only specific carve-outs for law enforcement and firefighters remain untouched for now.
- Millions of Representation Hours Vanishing: Historically, federal employees have utilized roughly 3 million hours annually of “official time” to represent colleagues in disputes, negotiate contracts, and address workplace safety. The OPM directive eliminates this resource overnight.
- The Impact: That is three million hours of legal and procedural defense work that will no longer happen. Without those hours, thousands of adverse actions, performance improvement plans (PIPs), and unfair labor practices will likely go unchallenged.
- The “Decertification” Goal: The memo explicitly encourages agencies to seek decertification of unions through the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). This is the “nuclear option” intended to permanently remove the union as the exclusive representative of the bargaining unit.
⚠️ The “Solo” Risk: You Are Now On Your Own
The most dangerous consequence for an individual employee is the loss of due process and the Grievance Procedure.
- The Old Way: If you faced a suspension or an unfair appraisal, your union could file a grievance, invoke arbitration, and bring in an independent third-party arbitrator to decide the case.
- The New Way: OPM’s memo tells agencies to “transfer to an internal administrative grievance process” any pending disputes. This means the agency that punished you will also act as the judge to decide if the punishment was fair. You lose the independent check on agency power.
🛡️ Replace the Union Shield with a Personal Strategy
With the union hall closed and stewards barred from investigative interviews, you need a new form of protection. Federal employees are effectively entering an era of “individual representation.”
Internal Benefit Advisors helps you navigate this high-risk environment where you must advocate for yourself.
How We Fill the “Information Gap”:
- Adverse Action Defense Strategy: Without a union rep to sit in on your Weingarten interview, you need to know your options before trouble starts. We help you understand the strategic role your retirement benefits play in facing disciplinary proposals.
- RIF Preparedness without a CBA: If your agency downsizes, there will be no union to negotiate impact and implementation. We audit your SF-50, verify your Service Computation Date (SCD), and confirm your Veterans’ Preference to ensure your retention standing is accurate before a RIF occurs.
- Exit Strategy as Defense: If the new “at-will” environment becomes untenable, we analyze your eligibility for Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) or Deferred Retirement. Sometimes the best defense is a well-planned strategic exit.
The collective bargaining agreement is being shredded. Make sure your individual financial and retirement plan is ironclad.
Contact Internal Benefit Advisors today for a confidential benefits and exit strategy review.
References
- FEDweek. “OPM Outlines Next Steps in Carrying Out Trump Orders against Unions.” February 17, 2026.
- Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Memorandum for Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies: Implementation of Executive Orders 14251 and 14343. February 17, 2026.
- Internal Benefit Advisors. Retrieved from https://internalbenefitadvisors.com
