Workers Under Attack

Trump-Musk Onslaught Aims to Cripple Labor Rights, Safety, Oversight

Soon after taking office in January, the Trump administration launched a campaign to cripple workers’ rights, dismantle safety agencies, and turn back the clock on years of progress for working families.

The attacks began in Trump’s’ first week with the unprecedented firing of Gwynne Wilcox, chair of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Her dismissal effectively shut down the panel and left workers without access to the independent agency that for 90 years has overseen union elections, responded to unfair labor practices and resolved labor disputes. Trump also fired NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo.

Wilcox sued, seeking reinstatement as a result of statutory language protecting NLRB members from arbitrary dismissal and longstanding Supreme Court precedent upholding such protections. The Trump administration hopes to overturn these protections, and the case is slated for consideration before the high court.

In the meantime, only two of five NLRB seats are filled, and the board is prevented from deciding cases due to a lack of quorum.

“These moves will make it easier for bosses to violate the law and trample on workers’ legal rights on the job and fundamental freedom to organize,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. 

Workers’ Rights

Under the direction of billionaire Elon Musk, the Trump administration laid off or fired hundreds of thousands of workers and froze trillions in funding that left hundreds of thousands more workers in limbo.

Unions, workers and other organizations challenged the moves with a raft of lawsuits, but the administration’s attacks continued, while Trump often ignored court directives.

In March, Trump signed an order meant to strip collective bargaining rights from more than a million federal workers with the departments of State, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Justice and Commerce and Homeland Security.

Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), called the decision an “unprovoked attack.”

“President Trump’s latest executive order is a disgraceful and retaliatory attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of patriotic American civil servants — nearly one-third of whom are veterans — simply because they are members of a union that stands up to his harmful policies,” Kelley said. “This is the beginning, not the end, of the fight for Americans’ fundamental rights.”

The AFGE and other unions plan to defend their contracts in court, but those battles can take months and could be further hampered by the deep cuts.

“I call on all patriotic and freedom-loving Americans to contact your elected officials and demand they take action immediately to stop these attacks,” Kelley said.

Workplace Safety

Besides attacking collective bargaining and crippling the NLRB and the Labor Department, the White House also is taking aim at worker health and safety.

The administration plans to rewrite Biden-era rules designed to prevent disasters at chemical facilities, reversing course on the safety regulations that require employers in the chemical sector to institute new safeguards for natural disasters, to use safer alternatives for certain highly dangerous substances, and to notify communities and first-responders about potential risks.

The USW represents thousands of chemical workers at more than 350 units across the United States.

“Chemical safety is about more than simply protecting workers,” said International Secretary-Treasurer Myles Sullivan, who oversees the USW’s chemical sector. “These incidents can cause lasting harm to entire communities.”

The administration plans to effectively eliminate the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which researches and makes recommendations on workplace injuries and illnesses. About 90 percent of the  agency’s 1,400 jobs are set to be cut.

Trump also delayed a rule to protect miners from silica exposure, while gutting the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the agency responsible for enforcing the protections.

Also in danger are heat exposure rules from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as the agency’s “walkaround rule” allowing workers to designate representatives during workplace inspections. DOGE shuttered OSHA offices around the country, along with those of other vital agencies.

Privatization Push

In February, Trump took steps toward privatizing the U.S. Postal Service, which employs more than 500,000 union workers. And in March, he began to dismantle the Department of Education. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) represent more than 3.6 million workers.

Trump’s agenda aims to weaken workers by shrinking powerful unions, but the attacks harm entire communities, said AFT President Randi Weingarten.

Dismantling public education will hurt students, she said, “denying them the resources they need to thrive.”

In their first 100 days, Trump administration officials also conducted hundreds of workplace raids and deported thousands of workers. Those with questions on immigration-related issues can visit the AFL-CIO’s resource page.

Fighting Back

Workers across the country are mounting a defense, through legal action, organizing, political activity, and bargaining new protections into their contracts.

“We will join community allies to counter Trump’s unfair and unconstitutional attacks,” Shuler said, “so together we can continue to build an economy that supports working families.”