Trump Gives Defense Department the Power to Crush Civilian Unions

In a memo that was recently made public, President Donald Trump has given Defense Secretary Mark Esper the power to prevent 750,000 civilian Defense Department workers from joining unions to negotiate collective bargaining agreements.

Esper did not request this authority and has not indicated that existing collective bargaining agreements have prevented the Defense Department from carrying out its mission. Instead, Trump's actions seem to stem from a White House memo that suggested eliminating all job protections for federal workers as part of a strategy to weaken union member power.