Bureau of Prisons ordered to restore its union's contract

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Bureau of Prisons to reinstate a collective bargaining agreement with the agency's union after the bureau's director abruptly terminated the agreement over claims the union represented an "obstacle to progress."Vernon Oliver, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, granted a motion for a preliminary injunction against the Bureau of Prisons that was sought by the National Council of Prison Locals to restore the agreement after Bureau of Prisons Director William Marshall terminated it on Sept. 25, 2025.The Trump administration has been trying to snuff out unions at multiple federal agencies. In March 2025, President Trump issued an executive order that sought to exclude federal offices involved in national security or intelligence work from having collective bargaining agreements with staff.

That order also applies to the Justice Department, which includes the Bureau of Prisons.Despite that order, the Bureau of Prisons continued to largely uphold its collective bargaining agreement with its union for six months after the executive order was issued. The union represents approximately 30,000 civil servants who work in federal prisons throughout the country.Oliver noted in his order that when Marshall opted to end the agreement, he made comments that suggested he was ending it for reasons other than national security.In a message on the Bureau of Prisons'