A coalition of major labor unions, including the AFL-CIO, has filed a motion in federal court to halt the Trump administration’s rapid dismantling of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), calling the sweeping layoffs “unlawful and unconstitutional.”
In an urgent motion for a preliminary injunction filed on Wednesday, the unions requested that a New York federal judge order an immediate stop to the administration’s actions, which they argue violate the Administrative Procedure Act and defy Congressional authority. The court filing follows a lawsuit lodged just a day earlier, asserting that the president’s March 14 executive order drastically reduces the FMCS in direct conflict with its statutory obligations.
The executive order mandates FMCS “be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,” prompting 93% of the agency’s staff to be placed on leave and all field offices to close. According to the unions, this renders FMCS unable to mediate labor disputes—services that Congress has mandated and consistently funded for over 75 years.
“Unions seek to block unlawful Mediation Service layoffs because these actions not only harm the workers but also undermine the statutory foundation on which the FMCS was built,” the motion stated. “The abrupt dismantling of FMCS is a de facto elimination of its core mission, carried out without proper legal authority.”
FMCS has historically employed 143 mediators and operated with a $54 million budget, successfully resolving critical labor disputes, including those in the healthcare sector. The current action reduces the workforce to just five mediators to cover the entire nation—a move the plaintiffs say cripples the agency’s ability to fulfill its mandate.
The coalition includes:
