Case: American Federation of Government Employees Local 3428 v. Zeldin
1:26-cv-14436 | U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Filed Date: Sept. 29, 2026
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding in progress
Case Summary
(This summary is temporary while we research the case.)
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3428 and AFGE, AFL-CIO, Council 238 filed suit against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and the EPA in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, challenging the abrupt termination of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) entered into on June 14, 2024, with a term running through June 30, 2028. The 2024 CBA included a "Scientific Integrity" article designed to protect EPA scientists from retaliation for findings that differed from the current administration's political aims. In June 2025, a union steward organized a "Dissent Letter" signed by over 100 bargaining unit employees raising concerns that Administration policies were undermining EPA's scientific mission and endangering public health. Following the letter's publication, Administrator Zeldin publicly declared "zero tolerance" for employees who opposed the Administration's agenda. On August 8, 2025—more than four months after President Trump issued Executive Order 14251 purporting to invoke a national security exemption to strip EPA employees of collective bargaining protections—EPA abruptly terminated the 2024 CBA without warning, offering no factual support for its claim that termination was necessary to "prevent irreparable harm to national security" and no explanation for the lengthy delay. Following the termination, at least 16 employees who signed the Dissent Letter were fired and 119 others received two-week suspensions without pay, with 110 of those disciplined having been covered by the now-terminated CBA. Plaintiffs alleged three causes of action: that the CBA termination was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA); that it violated the First Amendment as incorporated through the APA; and that it constituted a direct First Amendment violation through viewpoint-based retaliation and suppression of protected speech and association. Plaintiffs sought a declaratory judgment that the termination was unlawful, a permanent injunction prohibiting its effectuation, and attorneys' fees and costs.
This case is ongoing.
People
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74865697/parties/american-federation-of-government-employees-local-3428-v-zeldin/
Burroughs, Allison Dale (Massachusetts)
Bertrand, Jillian M (Massachusetts)
O'Connell, Alfred Gordon (Massachusetts)
Ravindran, Ramya (Massachusetts)
Documents in the Clearinghouse
Docket
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74865697/american-federation-of-government-employees-local-3428-v-zeldin/
Last updated Nov. 8, 2026, 3:06 a.m.
Docket for: American Federation of Government Employees Local 3428 v. Zeldin
Case Details
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: Sept. 29, 2026
Case Ongoing: Yes
Case Details
Other Dockets:
District of Massachusetts 1:26-cv-14436
Available Documents:
Case Summary of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3428 v. Zeldin, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/48565/.