USDA Conducted Tribal Consultations & Union Notification After Announcing Its Reorganization

After announcing its department-wide reorganization in July 2025, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) carried out the consultation and notification processes that ordinarily precede such changes. On August 29, 2025 — more than a month after the plan's release — the department notified the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Federation of Federal Employees of the reorganization's planned effects on bargaining-unit employees in the national capital region, initiating the collective bargaining procedures applicable to the changes. On September 12 2025, USDA similarly conducted Tribal consultations on the plan it had already announced, later issuing a consultation report documenting the sessions. Tribal governments and organizations expressed concerns about the planned staffing cuts, reorganization, and office closures.