Trump Kills Collective Bargaining
Trump’s latest executive order isn’t about national security—it’s about silencing government workers.
It’s always curious when a government claims it’s protecting democracy by weakening it.
Yesterday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to effectively end collective bargaining rights for federal employees in agencies with “national security missions.” That includes not just the CIA or NSA, but entire swaths of the federal government: State, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Treasury, Justice, Homeland Security, and yes—even Health and Human Services.
This isn’t a surgical strike against inefficiency. It’s a blanket policy that bulldozes worker protections under the guise of patriotism. The rationale? Apparently, unions are delaying national security. The real reason? Unions are delaying Trump.
Democracy is Inconvenient
This executive order is part of a broader trend—what we might call the Authoritarian Efficiency Doctrine.
The idea that government would work better if it weren’t for all the… you know, governing.
All the negotiations, protections, procedures, and little nuisances like “labor rights.” Strip those away, and you’ve got a lean, mean executive machine—one that just so happens to be allergic to oversight and dissent.
This isn’t Trump’s first tango with union-busting.
In 2018, he signed a series of executive orders that limited the time union reps could spend on official duties and made it easier to fire federal workers. Courts blocked parts of those, but that didn’t stop the momentum. Now, five years and a few grievances later, the gloves are off.
Power Consolidation vs. Worker Voice
Who wins? Trump and agency heads who want zero friction in implementing their policy agendas. Who loses? Roughly 800,000 federal employees, many of whom are veterans, nurses, cybersecurity analysts, and first responders.
And let’s not pretend this is about national security. Silencing workers who know the inner workings of critical federal operations undermines security. These people aren’t just punching in and out—they’re often the ones sounding the alarm when something’s off.
When “Efficiency” Means Dictatorship Lite
The logic behind this move is as circular as it is dangerous:
“We must silence unions because they’re obstructing our policies. They’re obstructing our policies because they’re legally allowed to disagree. So let’s make disagreement illegal.”
Imagine this logic in a private workplace: Your boss cuts your benefits, you file a complaint, and then your boss announces that from now on, nobody is allowed to file complaints. That’s not “reform.” That’s an HR coup.
Even more surreal is the idea that public servants are now considered enemies of the state if they dare resist politically driven mandates.
When unions like the AFGE or AFL-CIO challenge executive overreach, that’s not “declaring war.” That’s literally what unions exist to do—protect their members from abuse of power. And in a functioning democracy, that pushback should be welcomed, not criminalized.
What Is “Security” If It Requires Silence?
This raises a deeper question: if the government claims to be protecting us by stripping us of our voice, is that protection or control?
True national security doesn’t come from compliance—it comes from resilience. And resilience requires feedback loops. Checks. Balances. Disagreement. It requires that when 800,000 workers see something broken in their system, they can speak up, collectively. Without fear. Without retaliation.
What Trump’s executive order reveals is a profoundly transactional view of labor and democracy: You can have a job, but only if you stay silent. You can serve your country, but only if you don’t question how. You can be patriotic, but only if your loyalty is to the president, not the people.
America the Efficient, Democracy the Inconvenient
This executive order isn’t about security. It’s about silencing the people who make government work. It’s not about streamlining bureaucracy. It’s about removing friction—in the form of anyone who might say “no.”
And that’s the real danger: a democracy where only one voice is allowed, and everyone else is just background noise. Where “efficiency” becomes the excuse for authoritarianism, and “national interest” becomes a synonym for presidential whim.
In the end, Trump’s message is clear: If you want to serve the public, keep your mouth shut. But the rest of us should remember—democracy isn’t supposed to be efficient. It’s supposed to be fair. And if fairness slows things down a bit, that’s not dysfunction.
That’s freedom doing its job.
That’s the point.