A federal judge has ruled to protect the collective bargaining rights of workers at Voice of America (VOA), many of them AFSCME members.
VOA is an international broadcaster funded by the federal government to provide “trusted and objective news” with a focus on “countries where free speech is banned or where civil society is under threat.”
The Trump administration tried to dismantle VOA, but AFSCME and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) fought that dismantling in court. In the wake of the unions’ successful legal efforts, the administration stripped VOA employees of their collective bargaining rights.
AFSCME President Lee Saunders called last week’s ruling “a major victory.”
“This is a major victory for workers at VOA and USAGM against the administration’s efforts to silence their voices in an attempt to punish them,” he said in a press release, referring to the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the agency that houses VOA. “The professionals at these agencies have been beacons of hope against the world’s most oppressive regimes.”
AFSCME and AFGE made multiple arguments that the judge embraced, including that the administration’s actions violated the First Amendment.
“It was kind of a slam dunk,” said John Dryden, president of the Voice of America Employees Union, AFSCME Local 1418 (District Council 20).
Dryden said he hoped this victory will inspire members of his local to stay the course, rather than accept buyouts or other incentives to leave their jobs. And although he expects the administration will appeal the ruling, he is hopeful that his local will ultimately prevail.
On Aug. 28, President Donald Trump issued an executive order cancelling collective bargaining rights for USAGM employees. The next day, the agency cancelled its collective bargaining agreement with Local 1418.
In his ruling last week, D.C. federal judge Paul Friedman said that was unconstitutional retaliation against AFSCME and AFGE, another union representing the workers, for their efforts in a separate case to keep the agency operating in the face of the administration’s efforts to dismantle it.
The executive order was a violation of the First Amendment and an unlawful exercise of authority, the judge ruled, and represented a pattern of First Amendment retaliation by the administration against AFSCME and AFGE.
The judge’s ruling, which granted a preliminary injunction, came in a lawsuit filed by AFSCME; AFGE; AFSCME Local 1418; and AFGE Local 1812.
This victory is one of many AFSCME members have achieved in federal courts involving lawsuits against the administration. As Saunders put it, “We'll continue to fight for the collective bargaining rights of our members against an administration determined to strip them away.”