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BOP SAYS, ‘TAKE THAT, DISTRICT COURT!’ ON UNION CANCELLATION
Three weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver (D. Conn,) ordered the BOP to immediately restore union protection for more than 30,000 employees who lost it after the BOP unilaterally ended the Council of Prison Locals 33’s collective bargaining agreement a year ago.
Two weeks ago, the union asked Judge Oliver to hold the BOP and Director William K. Marshall III in contempt for failing to comply with the preliminary injunction. The next day, Marshall rescinded the AFGE contract cancellation notice but immediately issued a new notice that the contract had been re-terminated for different reasons and then said the agency no longer needs to honor the injunction.
“The court’s order was based solely on the conclusion that bureau leadership had issued inconsistent rationales for terminating the CBA; that order does not preclude the bureau from issuing a new termination decision after reconsidering the basis for that action,” Marshall’s October 7th memorandum to the union states. “Neither the court nor the union has indicated any disagreement regarding the agency’s ability to re-terminate the CBA in a new decision.”
The union is not happy. “It’s absurd and shameful that this administration would stoop so low as to flout the rule of law inside our own federal prisons just to silence the voices of the brave correctional officers who work every day in some of the most challenging environments in the country,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement.
We would caution the kids at home not to try this: it’s the kind of in-your-face contempt that would probably result in indictment for private citizens.
Federal News Network, BOP re-terminates union contract, days after being ordered to restore it (October 7, 2026)
AFGE News, Bureau of Prisons Terminates Union Contract Despite Court Order Mandating Reinstatement (October 13, 2026)
~ Thomas L. Root