By Leah Douglas
WASHINGTON -The U.S. Department of Agriculture moved on Tuesday to terminate union contracts with thousands of employees of its animal health and food safety inspection agencies, according to documents seen by Reuters.
The notices sent to union leaders at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Food Safety and Inspection Service said the move was aligned with President Donald Trump’s March executive order to exclude some federal workers from collective bargaining because their agencies have national security missions, the documents show.
The Trump administration has also moved to terminate union contracts at the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies under the executive order.
The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington;Editing by Mark Porter and Timothy Gardner)
