At the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, we stand with our one million members and their families as we continue to condemn the union busting carried out by the Trump administration. As labor day approaches, it’s clear that the rights and freedoms that our predecessors fought and died for are on the line. We urge you to keep reading our weekly updates so that we can continue to inform our community of these attacks giving everyone the opportunity to join us in speaking out. Together, we will ensure that all working people are heard!
Court Rules that Trump can Continue to Eradicate Collective Bargaining Rights for Federal Workers
On Friday, a federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration could carry out the order to eradicate collective bargaining for federal union members at several government agencies, as reported by Reuters.
This means that agencies such as the Departments of Justice, State, Defense, Treasury, and Health and Human Services will have no obligation to bargain with unions, which could potentially hurt workers if agencies decide to alter working conditions. The ruling also makes it easier for the agencies to fire and discipline workers, and could block unions from continuing to challenge Trump administration initiatives in court.
AFGE National President Everett Kelley in a statement called the Friday ruling “a setback for First Amendment rights in America.” The 9th Circuit put the injunction on hold pending a further appeal, and Kelley said the union is “confident in our ability to ultimately prevail.”
“President Trump’s executive order was the single biggest act of union-busting in American history,” said Fred Redmond, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer. “It was an attack on every union worker, every union contract, and the freedom for all of us to organize on the job and our freedom to speak out. But the labor movement is no stranger to attacks like these, and we don’t back down. Today, we are continuing our fight in the courts to restore the fundamental rights of every federal worker in this country.”
“Today, we stand up for over a million workers, including our members at the Overseas Federation of Teachers, who teach in some of the best schools in the nation, our Department of Defense public schools,” said Randi Weingarten, AFT President. “Their work and their voices have been quashed by this illegal executive order. While the administration tries to stifle the voices of our members, we will continue our fight in the courts, on the streets and in Congress to uphold both the law and the right of all workers and their families to have a dignified life.”
Trump Fired BLS Commissioner for Reporting Low Numbers in Monthly Job Data
Trump fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS,) Erika McEntarfer after he made accusations that she had manipulated the numbers in the monthly jobs data produced by the BLS, as reported by Reuters.
The reports demonstrated unusually low numbers for hiring in and job growth in the last two months with the U.S. economy creating only 73,000 jobs in July, and 258,000 fewer jobs created in May and June than previously reported.
In a statement, AFL-CIO Chief Economist Dr. Darrick Hamilton raised concerns about the data released for July, stating that the low numbers reported have resulted in part by decisions made by the Trump administration.
“Average job growth over the past three months has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade. Core sectors of the economy—manufacturing, government, retail and mining—are hemorrhaging jobs. Without modest gains in the health care and social assistance sectors, we’d be facing three straight months of net job loss. And yet, in the midst of this instability, the administration has pushed through what will likely be the largest health care cut in American history. And this data doesn’t yet capture the ripple effects of mass federal layoffs or the full force of recent budget cuts,” said Dr. Hamilton.
The Department of Labor Under Trump Seeks to Reduce Measures that Protect Working People from Discrimination
The Department of Labor under the Trump administration’s cost cutting efforts have come at the cost of working people’s health and safety. Recently the department announced 65 proposed changes to rules that are instrumental in protecting worker’s lives on the job. However, new developments would also roll back protections for the minimum wage, impacting as many as 3.7 million home healthcare workers, and reduce protections against discrimination, as reported by HuffPost.
One of the new proposed changes is to end affirmative action provisions for federal contractors, and rule changes for apprenticeship programs and workforce development. Another rule change would reduce requirements for contractors to consider hiring people with disabilities, while reducing data collection requirements that ensure that employers avoid discrimination in hiring processes and identify barriers to employment.
As the Trump administration’s decision continue to cost working people their jobs, rights as union members, and economic security we will continue to fight by educating our members with the facts that they need to know in the upcoming November 4 election. To rise to meet the moment, we will continue to empower everyone to mobilize like never before, to ensure that all working people in our state make their voices heard. To read all of our Trump attacks messages, click here.