Judge Orders Veterans Affairs to Reinstate Collective Bargaining Agreement

The VA said it terminated the contract last year to comply with President Trump’s executive order.

Pedestrians pass the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters, a block from the White House, in Washington on March 6, 2025. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A federal judge on March 13 ordered the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to honor its collective bargaining agreement with a union while litigation over the agreement played out.

U.S. District Judge Melissa R. DuBose of Rhode Island issued an injunction temporarily requiring the department to honor its three-year master collective bargaining agreement with the National Veterans Affairs Council (NVAC), which is a unit of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). The council represents about 300,000 department employees.