VA union contract stays in force during appeal

The First Circuit has left in place a district court order requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to keep a restored union contract in effect while the appeal goes forward. For VA employees represented by American Federation of Government Employees Local 2305 and the union's National Veterans Affairs Council, the labor rules they had been working under stay back in force for now, instead of being suspended while the dispute continues.

The order came from the District of Rhode Island on March 13, 2026, when the court told the VA to reinstate the collective bargaining agreement, along with any amendments, local supplemental agreements and memoranda of understanding that had been tied to it. The reinstatement runs for the remainder of the agreement’s term unless later court action changes that.

What the injunction puts back

This is not a ruling on who wins the underlying fight over the contract itself. It is a decision about whether the restored deal stays alive during the appeal, and the panel said no stay was warranted.

That matters because collective bargaining agreements do more than set abstract labor policy. They shape the day-to-day rules of work, from how employees operate inside the department to how management and the union handle the terms already negotiated and attached to the contract.

The appeal leaves the bigger dispute open

The case pits the two union plaintiffs against the VA and Secretary Douglas A. Collins in his official capacity. The appeals court’s move leaves the preliminary injunction running, but it does not resolve the merits of the broader labor dispute.

For now, the result is simple: the reinstated contract stays put, and the VA has to live under those terms while the case keeps moving through court.