On September 25, 2025, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director William Marshall III sent a formal notice to Brandy Moore White, Union President of Counsel of Prison Locals, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) that terminates the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement between the two. AFGE has vowed to oppose this action. This follows President Trump’s March 27, 2025 executive order titled Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs , which removed specific agencies and subdivisions from the coverage of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS). The Department of Justice (DOJ), including the BOP, was explicitly included in these exclusions.
As a result, the BOP no longer recognizes the union as the exclusive representative for employees. Several key changes were announced: (1) the CBA and all related agreements are void; employees must comply solely with DOJ and government-wide policies; (2) union dues will no longer be deducted from payroll; (3) union officials lose access to official time for union activities; and (4) employees no longer have rights to union representation in formal discussions or investigations, unless they secure personal representation independently. The notice concludes by directing inquiries to the DOJ Labor Relations Office.
Earlier this year, the BOP took action to prohibit the deduction of union dues from employee paychecks. The result was that union membership plummeted despite efforts to get dues directly from members’ bank accounts.
AFGE has been the voice of BOP employees for nearly half a century. Founded in 1932, AFGE became the largest union representing federal workers, but it was President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 Executive Order 10988 that gave federal employees the ability to engage in limited collective bargaining. That order opened the door for AFGE to establish locals across the federal prison system, representing correctional officers and staff in one of the most challenging workplaces in government.
By the late 1970s, AFGE had grown strong enough within the BOP that its locals came together to form the Council of Prison Locals (CPL) in 1980. The council gave employees a unified national voice, negotiating master contracts with the agency and advocating for safer working conditions. Over the years, AFGE and the CPL secured agreements covering staffing, overtime, disciplinary protections, grievance processes, and safety protocols. One of the most significant of these was the 2014–2028 Master Agreement, a comprehensive contract that governed working conditions for thousands of federal correctional employees.
AFGE’s role extended far beyond bargaining. The union regularly lobbied Congress for staffing increases, hazard pay, and measures to address chronic overcrowding and underfunding in federal prisons. It was often the leading voice warning about the dangers faced by correctional officers, from assaults to systemic understaffing.
For decades, employees of the BOP have reported low morale and persistent challenges in maintaining a stable workforce. Correctional officers and staff often describe their jobs as both dangerous and underappreciated, with long hours, mandatory overtime, and exposure to violence taking a toll on morale. Chronic understaffing has only made matters worse, forcing employees to cover multiple posts and work extended shifts, creating burnout and safety risks. These conditions have hindered the agency’s ability to recruit and retain qualified workers, despite repeated calls from unions and advocates for better pay, benefits, and staffing levels.
The shortage of personnel has had ripple effects across the federal prison system, exacerbating security concerns and straining already overworked employees. For many inside the system, the staffing crisis is not new — it is a long-standing issue that has steadily eroded morale and contributed to an environment of frustration and instability. New hiring initiatives across government, particularly for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which offers large sign-on bonuses, have put more pressure on staffing levels as have retirements from the agency.
The BOP has often been criticized by advocate groups as not being responsive to implementing laws, such as the First Step Act and Second Chance Act. Both of these pieces of legislation were slow to be implemented with some blaming the union for the lack of progress. I reached out to Rabbi Moshe Margaretten, President, Tzedek Association, a group instrumental in the creation and passing of the First Step Act. Margartten told me in an interview,
"As someone who has spent years working closely with the Bureau of Prisons on reform, I can say without hesitation that the union has been one of the greatest obstacles to real progress. For too long, every new policy, no matter how commonsense or beneficial to staff and inmates alike, had to be dragged through an approval process where the default answer was ‘no.’ "
According to Margaretten, the union consistently resisted changes that would have made the BOP safer, fairer, and more effective. Margaretten went on to say, "Director Marshall’s decisive action, with the full backing of President Trump, removes this roadblock once and for all. This is a watershed moment — an opportunity to finally build a Bureau of Prisons that works better for the men and women who serve in it and for the country as a whole.”
In Director Marshall’s September 25, 2025 notice ending collective bargaining, the BOP pointed to unions as a long-standing problem for the agency. The document explains that “collective bargaining and union activity have proven problematic to the efficiency of operations.” It highlights that negotiated agreements and grievance processes “created delays and unnecessary obstacles” in areas such as staffing assignments, disciplinary actions, and policy implementation. By terminating recognition of the union, the BOP argues it can “restore management’s ability to direct employees without interference” and ensure that staff follow Department of Justice and government-wide policies rather than agreements negotiated by the union.
Union leaders and employees, however, have long countered these claims, arguing that collective bargaining is not an obstacle but a safeguard. The AFGE and the Council of Prison Locals emphasize that negotiated agreements protect correctional staff from unsafe working conditions, unfair disciplinary practices, and chronic understaffing. It should be noted that the number of federal inmates have continued to decline since a peak of over 210,000 in 2013. Today, there are approximately 155,000 inmates in federal facilities.
The BOP has had a contentious relationship with its union over the years as management has clashed with union members over staffing shortages, employee safety, and mental health struggles by staff. According to Jon Zumkehr, President of AFGE 4070, “Correctional officers face some of the harshest and most dangerous conditions in American workplaces. Every day, they encounter threats—both verbal and physical—are exposed to substances like fentanyl, and endure harassment, including deeply disturbing incidents targeting female staff.” Zumkehr said the BOP leadership has too often written off these dangers as ‘just part of the job.’
The union had limited powers to strike or walk off the job so much of their gains for members were through protests and negotiations. The protests often sparked outrage from management as they aired vivid images of the dangers for staff in prison. At FDC Miami in 2021, a protest was held near the prison at a bus stop billboard depicting a coffin warning of staff deaths if demands were not met.
Zumkehr said that he believes the union has a chance in court to reverse this decision but knows it will be a long term battle. ’The reality is grim," Zumkehr said, “correctional officers are seven times more likely to die by suicide than the general population, and their suicide rate exceeds even that of police officers. Instead of supporting us, the Bureau is stripping away the rights that keep us safe.”
Inmates and their family members are concerned about the ramifications that this labor strife may have on their lives. Many of those I have spoke to in prison tell me that the negative environment within institutions often spills over into their own efforts to return to their families. The BOP has struggled in implementing the First Step Act and Second Chance Act that was meant to put people back into the community to serve the last portion of an inmate’s sentence. Inmates worry that this added stress to the staff will come back in the form of retribution just as the BOP has made great strides on returning them to the community for part of their sentence.
This will likely end up in litigation that could last months. In the meantime, the BOP will try to improve morale and move the troubled agency in a new direction. It is one of the BOP’s biggest challenges in many decades.
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