USDA moves to end employee union contracts, documents show
Thousands of federal food safety and animal health inspectors are set to lose their union contracts under a Trump administration directive tying certain agencies to national security functions. The decision impacts about 6,500 Food Safety and Inspection Service workers and roughly 1,500 at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, plus additional staff in smaller units. One major union has filed suit, arguing the work has no connection to national security. Worker advocates warn the move will heighten instability as the administration pushes to shrink the federal workforce.
See "USDA moves to end employee union contracts, documents show", Leah Douglas, Yahoo!News, August 13, 2025