On March 27, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order removing collective bargaining rights for federal employees while also authorizing the Secretary of Defense to exempt Department of Defense components from the impacts of the Executive Order. 

  

DoDEA educators and other employees operate 161 accredited schools across 11 foreign countries, 7 states, and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico. These schools are consistently ranked the best in the country in both reading and mathematics under the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and they ensure that military service members and their families can focus on defending the nation while their children receive the best available public education. 

  

“Secretary Hegseth must ensure that this Executive Order does not unfairly impact DoDEA educators and staff whose sole responsibility is providing the best available education for children in military families across the world. These employees do not have clearances, they do not conduct military or national security missions, and they are not on the frontlines of conflicts. But to a soldier actually doing this work on behalf of our country, our DoDEA educators have an even more important mission--to care for their children and support their families while they serve to ensure America's war fighting and readiness posture. Protecting collective bargaining rights for these dedicated public servants ensures that we can continue to provide a high-quality education to our military families. They deserve nothing less,” said Rep. Tokuda.

 

“Department of Defense Education Activity schools play a critical role in serving children of our servicemembers and Department of Defense civilians. The Trump Administration is once again gutting workplace protections, diminishing the voice of working people, and attacking collective bargaining rights – this time from educators and educational support staff work hard to educate and care for our military-connected children,” said Becky Pringle, President of the National Education Association. “When you take away collective bargaining, you take away workers' voices. I want to thank Congresswoman Jill Tokuda and the bipartisan members of Congress who supported this letter. Together, we must stand up for the servicemembers of our country and for the educators who have dedicated their lives to helping students from military-connected families.”

 

A copy of the letter can be viewed here. 

###