Yahoo: Treasury and IRS Terminate Union Contracts in Sweeping Move
The Treasury Department has terminated collective bargaining agreements covering workers at the Internal Revenue Service and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, citing an executive order President Donald Trump signed last March; yahoo. The step affects employees represented by the National Treasury Employees Union and follows guidance from the Office of Personnel Management and recent court decisions that have reshaped how the order can be implemented.
What the agencies said
IRS Chief Human Capital Officer Alex Kweskin told employees in a Friday email that the agency has terminated the 2022 national agreement and a 2025 addendum and cancelled negotiations in progress with the National Treasury Employees Union. Kweskin wrote that the action “deepens our commitment of operating as one IRS, a collaborative team focused on serving American taxpayers, ” and in another version of the message said, “This change deepens our commitment of operating as One IRS, a collaborative team focused on serving American taxpayers. ”
Yahoo reaction and union response
National Treasury Employees Union president Doreen Greenwald told the IRS that the agency “cannot unilaterally end” the contract and said the federal sector labor statute requires the IRS to have a collective bargaining agreement “with the exclusive representative of its bargaining unit employees. ” In a separate statement she wrote the IRS “cannot lawfully do so, and that the CBA remains in effect. ” The union filed a national grievance last week after the IRS placed more than 1, 000 back-office employees on involuntary 120-day details to do frontline filing season work, and NTEU told bargaining unit members that a response was due by April 2.
Orders, memos and court moves behind the decision
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last March that the Treasury and IRS used as the authority for the terminations, and an earlier executive action expanded the number of agencies exempt from collective bargaining on national security grounds. The Office of Personnel Management issued guidance this month urging agencies to notify unions that they were terminating applicable collective bargaining agreements. Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management, issued a memo this month calling on agency heads to comply with the March order and notify labor unions “that they are terminating any applicable CBAs (collective bargaining agreements), whether represented by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) or another labor union. ”
Court rulings and legal posture
The union sued the federal government last year over the president’s executive order. A D. C. court issued a preliminary injunction against the government that was stayed pending an appeal, and a three-judge panel of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued a decision in a separate case that cleared the way for implementation of the executive order.
How the changes are being implemented inside the IRS
Kweskin instructed managers not to invite union representatives to formal discussions, not to respond to union requests for information, and to send any negotiated grievances to Labor Employee Relations and Negotiations. He said the agency will cancel arbitration hearings and will pay arbitrators for work already performed. NTEU told bargaining unit members it has told arbitrators that the agency’s notice “means nothing in terms of our cases going forward, ” and the union wrote that “the arbitrators are agreeing with this posture and moving forward with cases — whether the agency participates or not. ” The IRS all-hands email reminded staff that all federal employees are legally prohibited from labor strikes, whether or not they are in a bargaining unit.
Who is affected and broader workforce changes
The National Treasury Employees Union represents roughly 150, 000 employees in 37 departments and agencies and the union represents roughly two-thirds of the IRS workforce, which the administration has reduced by roughly a quarter; the agency had about 100, 000 employees when the president took office a year ago. OPM earlier this month also released a rule to loosen job protections for policy-related positions, and the reporting in that rule said those changes would make it easier for political appointees to remove and replace policy employees.
Separately, President Trump was pictured gesturing from the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Friday, Feb. 27, 2025; the image was credited to Luis M. Alvarez. Jonathan J. Cooper contributed to reporting on the action. A related account noted the story was last updated at 5: 30 p. m. with additional details.
Next steps include the union’s pending grievances and the calendar for appeals: the union has active court challenges and has filed a national grievance with the IRS that the agency was expected to respond to by April 2. The IRS has said it will move forward with personnel changes while the legal and administrative processes continue.
