KITTERY – Fallout from a presidential order to end collective bargaining with unions has hit workers at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, prompting sharp criticism from some state and federal representatives in Maine.

In March of last year, President Donald Trump issued an order indicating that it would be terminating bargaining negotiations with some unionized federal workers, including workers at the shipyard. At the time, the administration cited national defense concerns when issuing  the order.

This week, various media outlets are reporting that local workers’ unions at the shipyard received a notice on Friday that the U.S. Department of Defense was no longer going to be engaging in bargaining agreements with unionized workers.

Spectrum News has not yet independently confirmed the workers received the notice, but the incident has already drawn fire from U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), who issued a statement Tuesday.

Calling the presidential order “totally outrageous” and “a slap in the face” to shipyard workers, Pingree said she co-sponsored a bill in December 2025 to reverse the order.

The bill passed the House with bipartisan support, Pingree said, but has not made it through the Senate.

“The right to unionize is foundational to our democracy,” she wrote. “Stripping federal workers of their collective bargaining power won’t make our country safer. I will do everything in my power to ensure this insane policy is reversed, and that the people who keep PNSY running are given the rights—and the respect—they deserve.”

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who is also running as a Democrat for governor, issued a statement on Sunday supporting the workers and criticizing the administration.

"Donald Trump claims that union activities harm American defense, but the real threat to U.S. safety is his own unhinged and unnecessary escalations with foreign adversaries,” she said. “Unions are good for workers and good for our national security.”

Representatives from the unions representing workers at the shipyard have not responded to multiple requests for comment from Spectrum News. A spokesperson for the shipyard itself referred all inquiries to the defense department.

A Pentagon official told Spectrum News only that the department was following presidential executive orders in terminating the bargaining agreements.