A new executive order excludes NASA and other agencies from their collective bargaining rights, citing national security reasons.
Just before Labor Day weekend, the White House issued an executive order that excludes NASA and other agencies from collective bargaining rights. NASA employees have previously expressed public dismay against the administration’s budget cuts to the agency and its policy against diversity programs, and the latest order is another major blow to the staff.
President Donald Trump signed the new order on August 28, ending collective bargaining at a number of federal agencies with national security missions. The order excludes NASA from a list of agencies previously granted federal labor protection, which allows their employees to organize, bargain collectively, and join labor organizations.
America’s civil space program
The order cited a provision under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which grants authority to the president to exempt agencies from labor protection if they have “intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work,” as their primary function.
Although NASA is defined as “America’s civil space program,” the new order argues that the agency’s activities fall under national security. “NASA develops and operates advanced air and space technologies, like satellite, communications, and propulsion systems, that are critical for U.S. national security,” the executive order reads.
The order affects the approximately 53% of NASA employees in a bargaining unit represented by two labor unions, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers and the American Federation of Government Employees, according to the agency.
“Today’s Executive Order seeks to deny bargaining rights at NASA on a bogus national security rationale, despite long-established Unions and bargaining rights for NASA civil servants that extend back to the 1960s,” IFPTE President Matt Biggs said in a statement. “IFPTE will continue to fight against these attacks in the courts, on Capitol Hill, and at the grassroots level.”
Best place to work?
NASA earned the title of “Best Place to Work in the Federal Government” for 13 consecutive years, but it has all come crashing down on the agency’s employees in the past few months due to a slew of executive orders by the new administration.
NASA is facing a $6 billion cut to its overall budget in 2026 compared to this year. Earlier this year, NASA began implementing a reduction in force, closing three offices and laying off staff in compliance with the Trump administration’s cost-cutting efforts. The agency also terminated $420 million in contracts.
Shortly after Trump was elected, NASA was forced to implement an executive order and close offices related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) at the agency and cancel related contracts. NASA employees were also forced to remove their pronouns from their email signatures and next to their display name in Microsoft Outlook and Teams.
A group of NASA employees recently organized a protest against the agency’s looming budget cuts on July 20, the same day as the Moon landing anniversary. Trump’s recent executive order would restrict those employees’ right to express dismay at their working conditions and the power to change them.
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