{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases/golden-s-bill-to-restore-federal-workers-union-rights-clears-threshold-to-force-house-action", "Golden\u2019s bill to restore federal workers\u2019 union rights clears threshold to force House action", "2025-11-17", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "House", "ME", "Jared F. Golden", "G000592", "golden.house.gov", "golden", "https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 A bipartisan bill by Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) to repeal an executive order that stripped federal workers\u2019 union rights is on track for a vote in the House after months of delay by Speaker Mike Johnson.\n\nThe Protect America\u2019s Workforce Act of 2025, which has enough cosponsors to indicate it would easily pass a floor vote, has languished since Golden introduced it with Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) in April. In June, Golden launched a discharge petition for the bill, which allows a majority of the House to force a vote on a piece of legislation if a majority of Congress signs it.\n\nToday, GOP Congressmen Nick LaLota (NY-01) and Mike Lawler (NY-17) signed the petition, bringing the total number of signatures to 218 \u2014 the number required to force House action.\n\n\u201cAmerica never voted to eliminate workers\u2019 union rights, and the strong bipartisan support for my bill shows that Congress will not stand idly by while President Trump nullifies federal workers\u2019 collective bargaining agreements and rolls back generations of labor law,\u201d Golden said. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to Reps. LaLota and Lawler for bringing this discharge petition over the finish line, and I\u2019m calling on Speaker Mike Johnson to schedule a clean, up-or-down vote on this bill.\u201d\n\nThe bill would nullify President Trump\u2019s March 27th Executive Order ending collective bargaining rights for roughly 1 million unionized federal employees across several agencies. Since Golden introduced the bipartisan bill in April, it has garnered bipartisan support from 222 members of Congress, including seven Republicans. Five of those Republicans \u2014 Reps. Fitzpatrick, LaLota, Lawler, Don Bacon (NE-02) and Robert Bresnahan (PA-08) \u2014 crossed the aisle to join House Democrats in signing the discharge petition.\n\n\u201cThe labor movement fought back against the largest act of union busting in American history by doing what we do best: organizing. Working people built a bipartisan coalition to restore union rights to federal workers in the face of unprecedented attacks on our freedoms. We commend every Democrat and Republican who signed the discharge petition to bring the Protect America\u2019s Workforce Act to a vote, but the fight isn\u2019t over,\u201d said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. \u201cIt\u2019s time to bring the Protect America\u2019s Workforce Act to a vote and restore federal workers\u2019 right to collectively bargain and have a voice on the job.\u201d\n\n\"It is unconscionable that the Trump administration has illegally stripped thousands of federal employees of their right to bargain for fair wages and safe working conditions. The President's executive order is a lawless attack on federal public servants providing crucial services to our nation, from servicing Navy submarines and caring for our veterans to providing Social Security benefits to older Mainers, surviving families and people with disabilities,\u201d said Cynthia Phinney, President of the Maine AFL-CIO. \u201cWe are thrilled that Congressman Jared Golden has been able to collect enough signatures to force a vote on this critical workers\u2019 rights legislation. We are incredibly grateful for his leadership on this issue and thank him for continuing to fight for Maine workers and their families.\u201d\n\n\u201cAFGE expresses its profound thanks to Rep. Golden for his herculean efforts to bring the Protect America\u2019s Workforce Act to the floor for a vote,\u201d said Dr. Everett B. Kelley, National President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents 800,000 federal employees. \u201cThis bill has been called labor\u2019s top priority in Congress and for good reason \u2013 it seeks to undo the largest loss of collective bargaining rights in U.S. history. The right to speak out in the workplace and have concerns fairly addressed is a human right and a democratic cornerstone. We urge the House to pass the Golden-Fitzpatrick bill without delay.\u201d\n\nIn addition to the AFL-CIO and AFGE, the bill has support from a wide range of unions representing federal employees, including: the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the United Steelworkers (USW).\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases/golden-s-bill-to-restore-federal-workers-union-rights-clears-threshold-to-force-house-action"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7985441479831934, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}