Abridged list: the Trump administration’s attacks on working people

With November 3 right around the corner, our membership should know the facts about President Trump. Does your preferred candidate have your best interests in mind?

Though this list isn’t complete, it provides a snapshot of what we can expect more of in 2020 and beyond if Trump and his administration stay in power.

Remember, you’re not just voting for president – You’re voting for an entire cabinet of individuals who will determine our collective future. Those individuals must have workers’ best interests in mind.

What has the current administration done in the past that’s bad for workers?

2017

1. Stripped away protections for rank-and-file workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs, prompting a 60% rise in firings in the second half of 2017 alone
   
2. Abolished labor-management councils in federal contracts
   
3. Rescinded the Department of Labor’s Persuader Rule, which required companies to disclose anti-union activities
   
4. Tried to take affordable healthcare away from millions of low-wage working people by repealing the Affordable Care Act
   
5. Undermined the Fiduciary Rule, potentially costing working people more than a quarter of our retirement savings
   
6. Supported the repeal of the Fair Pay and Safe Workplace Executive Order that protected construction workers from wage theft

2018

1. The December 2018 government shutdown, which denied about $9.5 billion of compensation to about 800,000 federal employees
   
2. Revoked the Department of Education’s previously negotiated union contract and illegally imposed an anti-union directive, stripping about 3,900 workers of all previously negotiated rights and protections.
   
3. Proposed $400 million budget cuts that would slash the Trade Adjustment Assistance program for those who lose their jobs to imports over the next decade
   
4. Proposed revoking key child labor protections for teenage workers.

2019

1. Trump weakened predatory payday lending standards, putting hundreds of thousands of Americans into crippling cycles of debt.
   
2. Encouraged wage theft and stifled union organizing by using the NLRB to tell companies to misclassify millions of employees as independent contractors. The Trump NLRB also:
   1. Undermined collective bargaining rights by giving employers more power to make unilateral changes to collectively bargained contracts without consulting with the union, gerrymandering bargaining units to undermine organizing drives, and withdrawing recognition from existing unions
   2. Stripped tens of thousands of student workers and Uber drivers of their right to organize under the NLRA, Section 7A.
   3. Narrowed the definition of “joint employer”— which makes it harder for temporary and contract workers to bargain with the firms that control their wages and working conditions
   4. Gave employers more power to limit workers and union organizers’ 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech on the employer’s property, even when employers let other groups on their property to solicit
      
3. Loosened wage protections for tipped workers, encouraging wage theft and forcing restaurant workers into poverty
   
4. Proposed a 78% cut to the International Labor Affairs Bureau, the federal agency tasked with promoting a fair playing field for workers worldwide and combating human trafficking
   
5. Eugene Scalia, Secretary of Labor, famously led the fight on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce against regulations to protect workers from injuries caused by unsafe workplace design. The rules would have prevented about 600,000 injuries a year.

2020

1. Enforced weak guidelines that put workers who are among the most at risk of contracting COVID-19 in danger
   
2. OSHA hasn’t been able to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard for infectious disease in light of the COVID-19 pandemic
   
3. Continued attacks on OSHA. The number of workplace safety inspectors has fallen to the lowest ever in the agency’s existence. As a result, 5,147 workers died on the job in 2017 alone.
   
4. IRAPs hurt construction workers by undermining unions. They allow developers to hire low-wage, unsafe workers, increasing the power of large corporations, and undercutting the wages for construction workers. It’s an attack on construction workers’ standard of living and hope for a decent future.
   
5. Trump favors large corporations that fund his campaign, even when workers are exploited and exposed to COVID-19 as a result

What does Trump have in store for 2021?

1. Proposed cutting the Department of Labor’s budget by nearly 10 percent
   
2. Eliminating the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which helps small-medium sized manufacturers to compete with giants
   
3. Slashing funding for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) by 33 percent. SNAP is an important health program for low-wage workers.

4. Defunding Social Security

5. Continuing to profit from foreign labor, instead of practicing “America First” priorities
   
6. Defying the constitution by encouraging boycotts to companies that defy his wishes
   

YOUR VOTE. OUR FUTURE.