The Bureau of Prisons is back in federal court because it canceled the same union contract again after a judge ordered it restored. The court declared the second cancellation void and moved the dispute into enforcement and contempt proceedings. The contract is the collective-bargaining agreement between the Bureau of Prisons and its union.
It controls grievances, bargaining rights, and workplace protections. The current round began when President Trump signed Executive Order 14251 on March 27, 2025. It excluded dozens of agencies from bargaining rules on national-security grounds, as FedSmith describes in its national-security order summary.
Table of Contents
- What did the executive order change?
- What happened to the prison contract?
- Why did an eight-day reversal return the case to court?
- What are the limits for other federal workers?
What did the executive order change?
Executive Order 14251 invoked 5 U.S.C. Section 7103(b)(1).
That provision allows exclusion from federal collective-bargaining requirements on national-security grounds. Agencies used that framework to cancel existing union agreements. The central legal question is whether the order required cancellation or left agencies with discretion.
What happened to the prison contract?
Bureau of Prisons Director William Marshall III terminated the AFGE agreement on Sept. 25, 2025, according to AFGE. It covered more than 30,000 employees. On Sept. 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge Vernon D.
Oliver issued a preliminary injunction. It ordered the Bureau to reinstate the contract through May 2029. He found the termination likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act as pretextual, according to FedSmith's reinstatement ruling report. The affected group is about 30,000 correctional officers and prison staff. They are represented by AFGE Council of Prison Locals. Their grievance, bargaining, and contract protections turn on reinstatement.
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Why did an eight-day reversal return the case to court?
The Bureau re-terminated the same AFGE agreement on Oct. 7, 2026. That was only eight days after the reinstatement order. It rescinded its prior termination memo and issued a new termination memorandum, according to Corrections1's prison contract ruling. The court then granted enforcement of its Sept.
29 injunction. It declared the Oct. 7 re-termination void. The dispute returned to federal court for contempt and scope-of-authority proceedings. Enforcement now turns on three separate questions:.
- whether the September reinstatement order remains in effect
- whether the October termination memorandum has any legal force
- whether contempt or limits on agency authority are warranted
What are the limits for other federal workers?
Relief remains preliminary and fragmented, according to AFGE. Its VA injunction appeal remains pending. Its Defense Department termination challenge awaited a fall 2026 hearing. Other contracts can remain cancelled meanwhile.
Agencies and unions must litigate each termination separately. They must show whether the executive order required cancellation or left agency discretion. That analysis comes from the Congressional Research Service. Enforcement motions and re-terminations can therefore prolong uncertainty. For now, a win in the prison case does not restore a canceled contract at another agency.
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