Trump 2.0 launches attacks on workers, labor rights, rule of law

By Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review editor

MINNEAPOLIS — Donald J. Trump launched his second go-round as President of the United States with a flurry of executive orders and actions attacking workers, limiting labor rights, and undermining the rule of law.

As this issue of the Labor Review went to press February 20 — one month since Trump was inaugurated as the nation’s 47th President — the White House even released an image depicting Trump wearing a crown and declaring “Long Live the King.”

“President Trump’s attack on federal workers began on his first day in office,” said Liz Shuler, president of the national AFL-CIO, condemning Trump’s move to reinstate “Schedule F” and create the means to replace career civil service workers with political appointees. “He is setting the table to clear out the hundreds of thousands of hardworking Americans who make our government actually work and replace them with political loyalists who will do his bidding,” Shuler said.

Also on Trump’s first day in office, he issued a pardon for some 1,250 insurrectionists who were tried and convicted for crimes they committed in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol — including individuals who were convicted of violent attacks on Capitol Police officers.

Trump supporters in the mob that he incited attacked the Capitol and injured 174 police officers — while four officers who defended the Capitol committed suicide within seven months.

Two police organizations which endorsed Trump in 2024 condemned the pardons. A statement by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)  declared: “Crimes against law enforcement are not just attacks on individuals or public safety — they are attacks on society and undermine the rule of law… The IACP and FOP firmly believe that those convicted of such crimes should serve their full sentences.”

“We will not forget our Constitution,” Trump pledged in his inaugural address, while in the same speech he announced the creation of his so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” — spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk — which has worked to gain access to American citizens’ private data, to shut-down entire agencies created by Congress, and to fire thousands of federal employees without cause or due process.

“Firing huge numbers of federal employees won’t decrease the need for government services,” said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees.  “It will just make those services harder or impossible to access for everyday Americans, veterans, and seniors who depend on them.”

Firing key leaders of National Labor Relations Board cripples agency

Trump also took actions to cripple three agencies vital to American workers and their families; the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In the case of the NLRB, January 27 Trump directed the firing of General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and Acting Chair and board member Gwynne Wilcox, who together in recent years supported historic pro-worker changes like banning employers’ “captive audience” meetings to intimidate workers.

No president in the history of the NLRB — created in 1935 — has fired a board member of the agency, which by law is an independent agency.

Firing Wilcox means the NLRB is down to just two members and no longer has a quorum to conduct its business.

President Trump has in effect shut down the NLRB, which is the federal agency that certifies union elections and hears a wide variety of labor disputes. This move, explained Paul Slattery of Teamsters Local 120, is an attack on the rights of all workers.

“If the Teamsters or other unions bring forward any charges, we can’t get a decision. Workers can take all the heroic steps to organize, but without the NLRB the union cannot become their certified representative. We cannot file charges to challenge unfair labor practices,” Slattery said. “But we will continue to organize. We will demand recognition directly from employers. We will look to the history of our movement, to how organizing was done before the Wagner Act created the NLRB in 1935. What’s happening is bad. It’s unprecedented. But it won’t stop us from organizing and representing workers.”

This uncertainty is impacting many other industries, including construction. According to Dan McConnell, president of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council, “any time there is this amount of uncertainty in the system, it causes people to pull back on investment. That hurts our members who work in construction. We heard there may be a 90 day freeze on Department of Transportation-funded projects. That would be a massive setback. We have a short construction season here in Minnesota. A 90-day pause could end up pushing projects back a year. Then we have a year of people doing nothing, not enough work to go around, and then a year of people being overworked to get back on track. Workers need consistency — and so far this President is giving us the opposite. ”

This story includes reporting by Jilian Clearman, formerly of the Workers Confluence Fund of Minnesota.

MARCH 6, 2025 UPDATE TO THIS STORY:

Federal judge reinstates labor board member fired by President Donald Trump
(Associated Press)