Sen. Lisa Murkowski is once again positioning herself as the leader of the Trump opposition, aligning with Senate Democrats in urging President Donald Trump to reverse course on a March 27 executive order that strips collective bargaining rights from thousands of federal workers.
The Trump Administration has also stopped collecting federal workers’ union dues through what was a voluntary payroll deduction at agencies, a move to align the government with the Janus decision that gives workers choices. His executive order cited the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act in exempting agencies from federal labor law for reasons of national security. The order also applies to agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Communications Commission, both of which have limited but real national security roles.
In a joint letter signed by Murkowski, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the group called on the president to reconsider his executive order, which is titled “Exclusions from Federal Labor Management Relations Programs.” The order ends collective bargaining rights at several federal agencies, a move the senators say undermines both workforce stability and government efficiency.
“The presence of collective bargaining rights has created a more stable and productive workforce and has allowed the federal government to better meet the needs of our constituents,” the senators wrote. “Further, sudden changes to labor-management relations are disruptive to the work of the federal workforce and will result in the loss of valuable federal workers with knowledge and skills critical to completing their respective agency’s missions.”
The letter writers said collective bargaining has historically played a role in improving recruitment, retention, and productivity across federal agencies. The senators argue that the executive order contradicts the president’s own stated goal of streamlining federal operations.
“We share your goal of streamlining federal operations and enhancing government efficiency, but believe that the March 27th EO impedes, rather than advances, efforts to make the federal government more efficient,” the senators said. “Therefore, we respectfully request that you reconsider your executive order and restore federal workers’ collective bargaining rights.”
Murkowski’s decision to side with Democrats and moderate Republicans like Collins on this issue continues a pattern that has drawn ire from conservative allies of former President Trump. Her anti-Trump approach to legislation has frequently put her at odds with the party’s positions. But the Alaska Republican Party cannot “delist” her as a Republican, since only she has that right.
The Trump Administration has defended the order as a necessary step to increase agility and accountability.
Earlier this week, she blasted Trump over his immigration policy.
