by Dennis Crouch
The Patent Office Professional Association (POPA) - the patent examiner union - filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on September 2, 2025, challenging President Trump's executive order that stripped collective bargaining rights from USPTO patent examiners by designating them as "national security" workers. The lawsuit (which also includes the National Weather Service Employees Organization as a plaintiff) presents a direct constitutional challenge to what the unions characterize as presidential retaliation against federal employee organizations that have opposed Trump administration policies through grievance proceedings and public advocacy.
- National Weather Service Employees Organization v. Trump, Case No. 25-cv-02947 (D.D.C. 2025).
- Dennis Crouch, Remote Work on the Chopping Block: How Union Exclusion Reshapes USPTO Employment, Patently-O (August 28, 2025)
POPA has represented patent examiners at the USPTO for decades, negotiating collective bargaining agreements that govern working conditions, performance standards, telework arrangements, and grievance procedures for the agency's professional workforce.
An important data point: Following Donald Trump's election victory in November 2024, but before his January 2025 inauguration, POPA successfully negotiated an enhanced collective bargaining agreement with the outgoing Biden administration. This agreement strengthened remote work protections and provided additional job security guarantees for patent examiners who meet performance requirements. While under the agreement patent examiners continue to face termination for failing to meet USPTO's fairly rigorous production and quality standards, the agreement provides important protections that have thus far prevented the new administration from forcing a full return to office or employee purge. But, the White House's new approach may do the trick.
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