This Pa. lawmaker refused discharge petition to restore federal workers’ union rights

There is a bipartisan push to restore union rights for 1 million federal workers, but this vulnerable Pennsylvania lawmaker is sitting on the sidelines.

While the discharge petition to release the Jeffrey Epstein files received an overwhelming majority of attention in Washington, DC, this past week, a second discharge petition, which would restore collective bargaining rights for federal workers, gathered enough signatures to force a vote in the coming weeks. 

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order unilaterally canceling union contracts and collective bargaining rights for close to 1 million workers, which prompted US House Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) to introduce legislation that would overturn Trump’s order. 

“The labor movement fought back against the largest act of union-busting in American history by doing what we do best: organizing,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, said in a statement. “Working people built a bipartisan coalition to restore union rights to federal workers in the face of unprecedented attacks on our freedoms.”

Even though the bill and discharge petition received bipartisan support, US House Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh) was one of the Republicans who opted not to sign the discharge petition. 

Mackenzie, who served in the Pennsylvania House from 2012 to 2024, defeated Susan Wild in last year’s election and is considered one of the most vulnerable US House members going into the 2026 midterm election. 

While legislators were collecting signatures for the petition, Mackenzie was posting on social media about his support for workers. 

“On this Labor Day, we recognize the hard work and sacrifice of all those who make the Lehigh Valley great. Local workers fix problems every day, but DC politicians are failing to fix the high prices, open borders, and unfair competition from China that are hitting working families hardest. We have the opportunity to change that in November,” Mackenzie posted on X.

When Mackenzie served in the Pennsylvania House, he voted for the dubiously named “Paycheck Protection” bill in 2017, which would have undermined collective bargaining rights for public employees throughout the commonwealth.  

According to the American Federation of Teachers, the bill would have barred employers from deducting union dues from employee paychecks that were destined to be used for political activities such as non-partisan voter registration drives, get out the vote programs, union legislative lobbying or “any other electoral, political or legislative purpose.”

At the time, labor leaders and other opponents feared that this would open the door to Pennsylvania becoming a “Right to Work” state. These laws undermine a union’s ability to collect dues from members and allows employees to opt out of paying their dues even though they reap the benefits of a union contract.  

“For Trump and his lapdog Ryan Mackenzie to double down on union-busting while pretending they’re champions of working families is shameless. As president of the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association and longtime public union member, I’ve fought hard for the bargaining rights that protect our safety, our pay, and our healthcare,” Bob Brooks, who is one of five Democrats looking to challenge Mackenzie in next year’s election, said in a statement. 

He added, “Mackenzie talks a big game about being pro-labor, pro-first responder, and pro-worker online, but his voting record tells the real story: when we need him, he’s sticking it to us.”