President Donald Trump has been dangerous for unions and working people. Since I know some members continue to support Trump, I want to lay out some of the things he and anti-labor politicians have done and said to hurt our union and the larger labor movement. I want to be clear that my support and Local 1298 endorsements for political candidates are driven by labor issues.
Since Trump was elected, he has had an antagonistic relationship with labor leaders. When GM announced the closure of plants, Trump blamed union dues saying: "You're paying too much dues," Trump said to workers. "As an example, they [the UAW] could've kept General Motors. They could've kept it in that gorgeous plant at Lordstown. They could've kept it. Lower your dues. Lower your dues." This wasn't the first time either that he has used his platform as President or his Twitter account to feud with labor leaders. He has attacked AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and had a very public feud with a United Steelworkers Local President as well.
Beyond Trump's Twitter feuds, he has instituted some policies that have been very dangerous for workers. His appointments have been a disaster for working people. He has appointed management-side lawyers to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that have consistently ruled against working people. He even made a lawyer who helped the NLRB break the PATCO strike the boards general counsel. You can click here to find out about some of the recent NLRB moves that have challenged the status quo and stacked the deck against working people. Trump's other major appointments, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, did even more damage for unions when he was the deciding vote in the Janus v AFSCME case. This case made Right to Work the law for the entire public sector. This means that public employees, including people represented under a CWA bargained collective bargaining agreement, could freeload and not pay dues while getting the same representation by the union.
Over the last three years, Trump has also made it tougher for unions to collect dues, his tax plan allowed over 142,000 jobs to be sent overseas, proposed ending federal pensions and has announced his support for a national Right to Work law for the private sector. Trump and his NLRB even want to make Scabby the Rat Illegal!
It's not just our unions that have been hurt by Trump. Since he took office he has made serious cuts to OSHA, the agency tasked with keeping us safe on the job. These cuts mean that there are fewer inspectors making sure that your workplace is safe.
The simple fact is Trump has not only tried to weaken our unions, but he has made it less safe to go to work. I would urge all of our members to click on the links provided above and learn more about the actions that President Trump has taken against working people.
Voting as always is every member's right. I felt it was important to remind our members that elections have consequences. We are currently facing the challenges that come along with anti-labor politicians.
