JFK signs Executive Order 10988 granting federal employees limited collective bargaining rights

On January 17, 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order 10988, granting federal employees the right to organize and engage in limited collective bargaining for the first time. The order required federal agencies to recognize and bargain with unions that won majority support from employees, though it excluded wage negotiations (set by Congress) and prohibited strikes. EO 10988 recognized 33 national unions and launched a period of rapid federal union growth. It was the first formal acknowledgment by the federal government that employees had a legitimate interest in collective representation.