In today’s news and commentary, the Trump administration seeks to appeal a federal judge’s order that protects the CBAs of employees within the federal workforce; the U.S. Department of Labor launches an initiative to investigate violations of the H-1B visa program; and a union files a petition to form a bargaining unit for employees at the Met. 

Bloomberg Law reports that the Trump administration is appealing a federal judge’s order that protects the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) of certain government labor unions. The Trump administration has sought to end the collective bargaining rights for over one million federal workers through executive orders issued on March 27, 2025 and August 28, 2025. These orders end collective bargaining rights for approximately 85 percent of the unionized federal workforce. The U.S. Department of Justice has now provided notice of an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overturn Judge Paul Friedman’s preliminary injunction that paused the nullification of these CBAs. The injunction currently covers workers that are represented by several unions, including the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, the American Federation of Teachers, the International Association of Machinists, and members of the AFL-CIO. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor has launched Project Firewall, which seeks to investigate violations of the H-1B visa program. The H-1B visa program is provided to nonimmigrants who perform services in a specialty occupation. These visas are most heavily used by companies in the technology sector, such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Through Project Firewall, the Department of Labor is pursuing around 200 investigations. The Department argues that this initiative will ensure that “employers prioritize qualified Americans when hiring and includes enforcement actions to hold employers accountable if they abuse the H-1B visa program.” This initiative comes after the Trump Administration proposed new hurdles to applicants for the H-1B visa, instituting a $100,000 fee to curb abuse of the program.

Lastly, Local 2110 of the UAW filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to form a bargaining unit for employees at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met). The union would represent over 1,000 workers at the Met, including educators, curators, and conservators, which would make it one of the largest unionized museums in the nation. The petition cites concerns regarding job security, pay inequity, and an increasing workload as reasons to unionize. Efforts to unionize began following the pandemic, when employees first reached out to UAW Local 2110, a union that has helped several museums unionize, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. The pandemic brought distinct fears of job loss, and workers are now seeking to protect themselves through a collective voice.