This Act nullifies specific executive orders related to federal labor relations and ensures that existing federal collective bargaining agreements remain in effect until their expiration date.
Mark Warner
Senator
VA
The Protect America’s Workforce Act nullifies two specific Executive Orders related to federal labor-management programs and prohibits the use of federal funds to enforce them. Furthermore, the Act ensures that all existing collective bargaining agreements between the federal government and labor organizations remain fully in effect until their original expiration dates. This legislation solidifies current federal union contracts while removing the authority of the voided orders.
Federal Labor Reset: New Act Voids Two Executive Orders, Locks In Existing Union Contracts Until 2025
The “Protect America’s Workforce Act” is essentially a legislative reset button for federal labor relations. This bill targets two specific presidential actions—Executive Order 14251 and Executive Order 14343—by declaring them completely void. What that means in practice is that the federal government can no longer spend any taxpayer money enforcing or carrying out any programs or rules established under those two orders (SEC. 2). If you’re a federal employee or manage a federal agency, the structures or policies those EOs put in place are now off the table.
The Executive Order Clean Sweep
Think of this as pulling the rug out from under specific labor policies enacted by a previous administration. Since the bill doesn't specify what those two voided EOs covered, the immediate impact is a sudden shift in how federal agencies manage their workforce and handle labor disputes. For agencies that had spent time and resources aligning their internal policies with the requirements of EOs 14251 and 14343, this nullification means they have to stop those efforts immediately and essentially revert to the previous framework (SEC. 2). This could lead to a period of administrative uncertainty as agencies figure out which rules apply next.
Protecting the Union Fine Print
While Section 2 is about nullifying past actions, Section 3 is about providing stability for current workers. This section explicitly protects existing collective bargaining agreements—that’s the technical term for union contracts—between the federal government and labor organizations. If a union contract was signed and active as of March 26, 2025, that contract remains fully valid and in force until its original expiration date (SEC. 3). This is a big deal for federal employees who are union members because it prevents the government from using the new law, or any subsequent policy changes, to unilaterally break or renegotiate those current agreements before their agreed-upon term ends. Your existing benefits, work rules, and pay scales negotiated in that contract are locked in, regardless of the policy shifts happening around them.