‘PAWA to the People’ – Hundreds Gather at US Capitol Urging Senate to Restore Federal Collective Bargaining Rights

APWU national officers and staff joined hundreds of federal workers, union members, and supporters at the “PAWA to the People” rally hosted by the Federal Unionists Network (FUN), amongst others, in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Organizers and attendees gathered in front of the U.S. Capitol building to urge Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to schedule a vote on the Protect America’s Workforce Act (PAWA), which if passed would restore the collective bargaining rights of more than one million federal workers who were stripped of their union protections by an executive order signed by President Trump in March 2025 instructing most federal agencies to rescind their contracts with federal unions under the guise of national security. The illegal order revoked collective bargaining rights for nearly 85% of the unionized federal workforce in one of the largest acts of union busting in U.S. history. House Representatives Jared Golden (D-ME) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) initially introduced PAWA (H.R. 2550) in April 2025. The popular bill passed the House with bipartisan support on Dec. 11, 2025, after a discharge petition forced a vote to restore collective bargaining rights for federal workers.

Now the fight moves to the senate, where Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is helping lead the charge to get the bill scheduled for a vote and passed. Criticizing President Trump’s sweeping actions to strip federal workers of their collective bargaining rights, Van Hollen stated, “This was just a sham and a farce to deny patriotic federal employees the opportunity to participate in a union, to protect their rights. By protecting the federal workforce, we also protect the American people and the good work that you do on behalf of the American people.”

Guest speakers at Wednesday’s rally included congressional leaders Sen. Van Hollen and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI); labor leaders, including National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) President Randy Erwin, National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Vice President Terry Scott, AFL‑CIO Union Veterans Council Executive Director Craig Romanovich, and Secretary Treasurer and VA Division Chair of National Nurses United (NNU) Irma Westmoreland; as well as local union leaders and rank-and-file federal workers.

To view photos from the “PAWA to the People” rally, CLICK HERE.