House Votes to Return Bargaining Rights12/12 06:09

   Nearly two dozen House Republicans joined Democrats Thursday to pass a bill 
that would restore collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of 
federal employees, an attempt to overturn an executive order that President 
Donald Trump issued earlier this year.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly two dozen House Republicans joined Democrats 
Thursday to pass a bill that would restore collective bargaining rights for 
hundreds of thousands of federal employees, an attempt to overturn an executive 
order that President Donald Trump issued earlier this year.

   The measure passed 231-195 after reaching the floor through a bipartisan 
maneuver that bypassed GOP leadership -- a so-called "discharge" tactic that is 
being used with growing frequency as Republicans seethe over dysfunction in the 
chamber. The bill still needs Senate approval to become law, but 20 Republicans 
sided with Democrats in a rare break from the president.

   The executive order that Trump issued in March aimed to end collective 
bargaining for employees of agencies with national security missions across the 
federal government. He said he had the authority to revoke the rights under a 
1978 law.

   "Reinstating these rights is not a concession -- it is a commitment. A 
commitment to treat federal workers with dignity, to reinforce a resilient 
public service, and to honor the commitment of the men and women who show up 
for the American people every single day," GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a 
co-sponsor of the bill, said on the floor before passage.

   Trump's order targeted the union rights of roughly 600,000 of the 800,000 
federal workers represented by the American Federation of Government Employees, 
or AFGE, including those at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the 
Department of Defense.

   The union is challenging those moves in court, arguing they are illegal and 
retaliatory. In May, an appeals court said the administration could move 
forward with the executive order while the lawsuit plays out.

   In a statement after Thursday's vote, the AFGE said it "extends its deep 
appreciation to every member of Congress who voted for the bill." The group's 
president, Everett Kelley, called it a "seismic victory."

   The bill's approval was also praised by the AFL-CIO, the biggest labor 
federation in the U.S.

   "We commend the Republicans and Democrats who stood with workers and voted 
to reverse the single largest act of union-busting in American history," said 
Liz Shuler, the group's president.

   The bill reached the floor through a discharge petition led by Democratic 
Rep. Jared Golden of Maine. It's a tactic that has been used with increasingly 
frequency this Congress due to frustrations with GOP leadership, including in 
the high-profile push to force release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Any 
lawmakers can force a vote on legislation if their petition gains 218 
signatures, a majority in the 435-member House.

   All House Democrats who voted supported the measure to restore the 
bargaining rights. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries supported the bill, 
saying on the floor prior to its passage that it would help "public servants 
who have been targeted viciously by the Trump administration from the very 
beginning of his time in office."

   While passage in the Republican-held Senate appears unlikely, the vote 
represented one of the chamber's first formal rebukes of the president and the 
flurry of executive orders he has issued during his second term.

   The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

   Still, most of the Republicans who backed the bill still held back from 
directly calling out the president. Speaking on the House floor before voting 
in favor of the bill, New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler said that "earlier 
this year, an executive order changed the collective bargaining status."

   "Every American deserves a voice in the workplace, and that includes the 
people who keep our government running and open," said Lawler.

   Of the 20 Republicans who backed the bill, many, including Fitzpatrick, face 
tough reelections next year. It comes at a time when some Republicans, 
following Trump's lead, have become more supportive of labor unions, long a key 
part of the Democratic Party's coalition.

   New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who switched parties in Trump's first term, 
was among the Republicans to support the bill, but told reporters prior to the 
vote that he wasn't trying to send a message to the president with his vote.

   "No message here at all," said Van Drew. "This is a New Jersey message. I 
got to take care of my people. And I've always been supportive of unions."