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A Letter to President Trump concerning Federal Employees
Dear Mr. President,
The Catholic Labor Network (CLN) is a Catholic nonprofit and private association of the faithful in the United States that unites clergy, religious, laity, and people of goodwill to advance the principles of Catholic Social Teaching on the dignity of work and the rights of workers through prayer, education, and action.
We write with deep concern regarding Executive Order 14099, Exclusions from the Federal Labor-Management Relations Program, issued on March 27, 2025. This order would significantly limit the ability of more than one million federal employees to exercise their fundamental right to collective bargaining. We respectfully urge you to rescind this executive order.
From the time of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum in 1891, the Catholic Church has consistently affirmed the moral and human right of workers to organize and bargain collectively. This teaching is not limited to private-sector employment. The Church has long held that the dignity of workers is not dependent on whether their employer is public or private; rather, it is a reflection of their inherent human dignity.
In Laborem Exercens, Pope St. John Paul II wrote, “The important role of union organizations must be admitted: their task is to defend the existential interests of workers in all sectors.” This includes public servants who dedicate their labor to the common good—educators, health professionals, public safety officers, and countless others.
Your administration has voiced a commitment to defending the dignity of work and uplifting working families. This Executive Order, however, directly undermines that commitment and contradicts long-standing Catholic teaching on the rights of workers.
On behalf of our members and supporters—Catholics committed to justice in the workplace and the common good—we respectfully and prayerfully urge you to rescind this order and reaffirm the right of federal employees to organize and bargain collectively.