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On October 8, 2025, our parent union, IFPTE, filed a lawsuit in District Court against the Trump Administration’s August 28th executive order which targeted NASA and other federal agencies, revoking union bargaining rights for GESTA and other NASA unions by claiming that NASA’s primary purpose was national security. This IFPTE lawsuit argues that not only is NASA’s purpose clearly not primarily national security, but that NASA unions were illegally targeted in retaliation for pushing back against the administration's actions. The lawsuit names as plaintiffs, President Trump and Acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy and asks the implementation of the Executive Order be halted and for NASA union rights to be restored. You can read the full complaint here and IFPTE’s press release on the lawsuit here. The lawsuit has also been covered in the press. We will keep our members posted on this ongoing litigation which directly impacts their rights. Members can also track the status of this case on Court Listener, where many of the case documents, including any future rulings will be posted.
IFPTE is considering litigation against the administration and the Executive Order (EO) which categorized NASA as a national security agency and abrogated GESTA’s and other NASA employee unions' bargaining rights. A prior lawsuit was filed in July by IFPTE and other federal labor unions that included agencies impacted earlier by this EO. There was a October 1st ruling on this prior lawsuit that provided a preliminary injunction in that case, restoring those union’s bargaining rights.
Based on guidance from IFPTE, we plan to continue to take action and represent our members in the following ways:
Term Employee Right Preserved Thanks to the efforts of AVP Matt Joplin and the Term, Pathways, and Probationary Employees Committee led by Margaret Samuels, a Goddard term employee whose term was expiring pushed back on HR and will be getting their severance pay. Although in most cases term employees do not receive severance pay, this employee came directly from a prior permanent federal service position which entitled them to severance. If any term employees find themselves in a similar situation please reach out to GESTA for advice or representation. This type of representative action does not rely on management upholding our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Engineering Directorate Management Thwarted in Preventing Outside Employment GESTA was recently able to assist members in getting outside employment approvals. As one member told us, “The union is a massive help when the issue is just one holdout in management. I'd been stonewalled getting my outside employment form signed for months because someone in ETD management didn't want to sign. Within a week of the union applying pressure, everyone who was requesting outside employment had our forms signed, and the manager… was taken out of the process. Even without a CBA, I think we could help each other in a similar situation.” GESTA Members Speak with Congress Six GESTA members spoke with Congressional staffers about the impacts of the DRP at Goddard and the importance of continued funding. We’re very proud of our members for volunteering their time and sharing their perspectives at this event. GESTA members will also attend a NASA-wide legislative advocacy week Sept 15-19th, where union delegates from NASA centers across the nation will visit with staffers in Washington, DC. Both of these events were organized by our parent union IFPTE. More details available here. These Congressional advocacy actions and rights are also entirely independent of our CBA. IFPTE issued a press release on August 28th on the recent addition of NASA to the President’s executive order (EO) revoking certain federal agency bargaining agreements.
IFPTE President Matt Biggs stated, “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 will continue to fight against these attacks in the courts, on Capitol Hill, and at the grassroots level.” IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson stated “..this is particularly damaging to IFPTE’s NASA Locals and members, as well as our members’ work on groundbreaking NASA missions that provide immense scientific value and advance aeronautics and space exploration. Rest assured, our Locals will continue to exist and continue to represent their membership, despite these illegal orders.” IFPTE is fighting this executive order in the courts. Prior to NASA being added to this executive order, IFPTE had joined with other federal labor unions to file a July 29th lawsuit against the administration against the EO. That lawsuit will be amended to add NASA shortly. The lawsuit requests injunctive relief to halt the revocation of bargaining agreements under this EO. IFPTE and GESTA will keep members posted on any updates on this legal fight. A note that half of members' union dues are passed up to IFPTE – so your dues help fund these type of legal actions. On August 28th, President Trump declared NASA to be one of the agencies that perform “national security functions,” repudiating all NASA collective bargaining agreements in an executive order (EO). Note this EO does not prohibit NASA from having unions. The EO is illegal, and the legality of similar EOs is being fought in the courts. The IFPTE, our parent union, and other national unions associated with our NASA sister centers are working to determine a course of action. WE ARE FIGHTING THIS.
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