EPA eliminates Trump workforce orders from labor contract

The Environmental Protection Agency rolled back the clock on portions of its collective bargaining agreement on official time, union office space, grievance procedures and more to eliminate provisions added during the Trump administration under an interim agreement.

The agreement, which takes effect April 7 and covers 7,500 EPA employees, is in keeping with an executive order from President Joe Biden eliminating multiple workforce policies put in place under the Trump administration to cut back on the amount of paid time employees can spend on union business and to eliminate union access to agency office space and infrastructure.

For now, the agency is reverting to the terms of a 2007 collective bargaining agreement to govern official time, grievance procedures and performance evaluations.

A telework provision in the 2020 agreement will remain in place with some adjustment. For the time being, a maximum telework policy is in effect because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Telework will be included in the next round of union-management negotiations.

"This is a huge step in the right direction," Gary Morton, president of American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, said in a statement.  "The union won't stop fighting until we eliminate all of the anti-labor provisions forced on us by the previous administration."