AFGE Reports 94,470 Fewer Members: Federal Unions by the Numbers

Last Updated: October 28, 2026 Reading Time: 7 min

The American Federation of Government Employees told the Labor Department it had 225,355 members at the end of 2025, down from 319,825 a year earlier. That's 94,470 fewer members, a 29.5% drop, in the year agencies stopped taking union dues out of federal paychecks. We pulled the annual LM-2 reports for the major federal and postal unions to see whether the rest followed the same path. Most fell far less, and one grew.

Source: OLMS LM-2 reports, national filings, retrieved October 28, 2026. Fiscal years differ by union, so the periods are not identical. IFPTE files under the OLMS name "Engineers, Prof and Tech" and includes many non-federal locals. NFFE's per capita line tripled while its receipts fell, and the filing doesn't explain it, so we don't compare it. Postal unions are shown only for comparison: they are outside the executive orders' agency lists. FedTools analysis.

Active members fell by 93,305, or 31.1%. Retired members went up slightly. FedSmith first reported the 94,470 figure on October 26; it matches the filing's member line exactly.

Read the table with two cautions:

• These are members, not confirmed dues payers. The report counts who AFGE carried as members at year end. The filing's notes identify 508 members in categories with no dues or waived dues (176 active military and 332 seasonal members in non-pay status). It doesn't say how many of the other reported members were current on dues.
• The $8.1 million drop isn't total dues. AFGE's national office reports $0 on the "dues" line because members pay their local, and locals send per capita tax up to the national. That per capita line fell from $74,976,728 to $66,904,668.

The NTEU Exception

NTEU's report runs October 2024 through September 2025 and shows the opposite pattern on members: 105,804, up from 93,501. The increase is all in its full-dues "Member" row, which went from 89,543 to 102,187.

At the same time, NTEU's dues receipts fell from $38,974,301 to $33,947,448, about 13%. The filing's own note says members "pay full dues (subject to Executive Order 14,251, which is currently being litigated)." It doesn't say how many members were actually paying during the year. NTEU's next annual report, for the year ending September 30, 2026, is the one to watch. Our NTEU Dues Direct explainer covers how members can pay dues directly.

What Changed: Payroll Dues Stopped, Not by the Order's Text

On March 27, 2025, Executive Order 14251 used the President's power under 5 U.S.C. § 7103(b)(1) to exclude a long list of agencies from federal labor-relations law, including VA, most of DoD, Treasury, Justice, State and EPA. An August 28, 2025 order (EO 14343) added NASA, the National Weather Service, the patents office and others.

Neither order mentions dues. Agencies stopped payroll deductions themselves. VA, the largest AFGE employer, says it "stopped withholding union dues" on April 25, 2025, and in August 2025 ended its contracts with AFGE, NAGE, NFFE, NNU and SEIU for most employees. About 4,000 VA police officers, firefighters and security guards kept theirs.

Court relief on dues has come, if at all, agency by agency, not government-wide. In February 2026 the Ninth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction against EO 14251 in AFGE v. Trump; that ruled on a First Amendment retaliation claim at the preliminary stage, not on whether the order is lawful. NTEU's case is on appeal in the D.C. Circuit with its injunction on hold. As of late October 2026, we found no court order restoring payroll dues across the government. Our court rulings tracker follows each agency.

What It Means If You're in a Bargaining Unit

• Membership is your choice. Federal employees have the right to join a union or refrain from joining, without penalty or reprisal (5 U.S.C. § 7102).
• Representation doesn't depend on dues where the unit is still covered. The union "is responsible for representing the interests of all employees in the unit" without regard to membership (5 U.S.C. § 7114(a)(1)).
• Where payroll deduction still applies, your agency must honor it. In agencies still covered by chapter 71, an agency must deduct dues at no cost if you sign a written assignment, and the assignment can't be revoked for one year (5 U.S.C. § 7115(a)). The allotment ends earlier if the agreement stops applying or you are suspended or expelled from the union (5 U.S.C. § 7115(b)).
• In an excluded agency, paying dues directly keeps you a member, but it doesn't restore a contract the agency ended. Whether those exclusions stand is what the court cases will decide.

See What's Left of Your Paycheck

If you're deciding whether to keep paying dues directly, start with your actual net pay. The free Federal Take-Home Pay Calculator shows your biweekly take-home from your grade, step and locality, so you can see what a monthly dues payment would come out of.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many members did AFGE lose in 2025?

AFGE's annual LM-2 report to the Labor Department lists 225,355 members at the end of 2025, down from 319,825 at the end of 2024. That is 94,470 fewer members, a 29.5% drop. Almost all of the decline is in the full-dues Active Member category, which fell from 300,157 to 206,852.

Did every federal union lose members?

No. NTEU's report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025 shows 105,804 members, up from 93,501, although its dues receipts fell about 13%. NFFE fell 7.1%, NAGE fell 2.3%, and IFPTE was essentially flat. Fiscal years differ by union, so the periods are not identical.

Did an executive order end union dues deductions?

Not in its text. Executive Order 14251 and the August 2025 order that expanded it exclude agencies from federal labor-relations law but do not mention dues. Agencies stopped payroll deductions on their own reading of the orders; VA, for example, stopped withholding dues on April 25, 2025.

Do I lose union representation if I stop paying dues?

Where your bargaining unit is still covered by federal labor law, no. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7114(a)(1), the union must represent all employees in the unit without regard to membership. Membership is voluntary under 5 U.S.C. § 7102. Where an agency was excluded and its contract ended, the coverage question is being litigated.

Has any court restored payroll dues deduction?

Not across the government. As of late October 2026 we found no order restoring payroll dues government-wide; rulings in individual agency cases differ, so check our union court rulings tracker for your agency. The Ninth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction against Executive Order 14251 in AFGE v. Trump in February 2026, and the NTEU case is on appeal with its injunction on hold.

Related Resources

• Federal Take-Home Pay Calculator: Your biweekly net pay
• Union Contract Court Rulings, Agency by Agency: Where each case stands
• NTEU Dues Direct Deadline: How direct dues payment works
• AFGE and NFFE's DoD Bargaining Lawsuit: The DoD case

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, OLMS LM-2 reports (national filings) for AFGE (2024 and 2025), NTEU, NFFE, NAGE, IFPTE, APWU and NALC, retrieved October 28, 2026; Executive Order 14251, 90 FR 14553; Executive Order 14343, 90 FR 42683; VA bulletin, August 6, 2025; 5 U.S.C. §§ 7102, 7103(b)(1), 7114(a)(1), 7115(a); AFGE v. Trump, No. 25-4014 (9th Cir. Feb. 26, 2026); FedSmith, October 26, 2026. Tables are FedTools analysis of the filings.