Common Dreams
March 28, 2025
March 28, 2025
Hard hats and a strike sign. (Photo credit:: Stella_E / Shutterstock)
President Donald Trump's latest attack on the working class was delivered in the form of an executive order late Thursday that seeks to strip the collective bargaining rights from hundreds of thousands of federal government workers, a move that labor rights advocates said is not only unlawful but once again exposes Trump's deep antagonism toward working people and their families.
The executive order by Trump says its purpose is to "enhance the national security of the United States," but critics say its clear the president is hiding behind such a claim as a way to justify a broadside against collective bargaining by the public workforce and to intimidate workers more broadly.
"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," said Everett Kelley, president of the 820,000-member American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the nation's largest union of federal workers.
"The labor movement is not about to let Trump and an un-elected billionaire destroy what we’ve fought for generations to build. We will fight this outrageous attack on our members with every fiber of our collective being." —Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO
The far-reaching order, which cites the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act as the source of his presidential authority, goes way beyond restricting collective bargaining and union representation at agencies with a national security mandate, but instead tries to ensnare dozens of federal agencies and classifications of federal workers who work beyond that scope.
According to the Associated Press, the intent of the order "appears to touch most of the federal government."
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler responded with disgust to the order, pointing out that the move comes directly out of the pre-election blueprint of the Heritage Foundation, which has been planning this kind of attack against the federal workforce and collective bargaining for years, if not decades.
"Straight out of Project 2025, this executive order is the very definition of union-busting," said Schuler in a Thursday night statement. "It strips the fundamental right to unionize and collectively bargain from workers across the federal government at more than 30 agencies. The workers who make sure our food is safe to eat, care for our veterans, protect us from public health emergencies and much more will no longer have a voice on the job or the ability to organize with their coworkers for better conditions at work so they can efficiently provide the services the public relies upon."
Shuler said the order is clearly designed as "punishment for unions who are leading the fight against the administration's illegal actions in court—and a blatant attempt to silence us."
The White House practically admitted as much, saying in a statement that "Trump supports constructive partnerships with unions who work with him; he will not tolerate mass obstruction that jeopardizes his ability to manage agencies with vital national security missions." In effect, especially with a definition of "national security" that encompasses a vast majority of all government functions and agencies, the president has told an estimated two-thirds of government workers they are no longer allowed to disagree with or obstruct his efforts as they organize to defend their jobs or advocate for better working conditions.
Describing the move as "bullying tactics" by Trump and his administration, Kelley said the order represents "a clear threat not just to federal employees and their unions, but to every American who values democracy and the freedoms of speech and association. Trump’s threat to unions and working people across America is clear: fall in line or else."
"These threats will not work. Americans will not be intimidated or silenced. AFGE isn't going anywhere. Our members have bravely served this nation, often putting themselves in harm’s way, and they deserve far better than this blatant attempt at political punishment," he added.
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 11: Members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union protest against firings during a rally to defend federal workers in Washington, DC on February 11, 2025.Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Both AFGE and the AFL-CIO said they would fight the order tooth and nail on behalf of federal workers—and all workers—who have a right to collective bargaining and not to be intimidated for organizing their workplaces, whether in the public or private sector.
"To every single American who cares about the fundamental freedom of all workers, now is the time to be even louder," said Shuler. "The labor movement is not about to let Trump and an un-elected billionaire destroy what we've fought for generations to build. We will fight this outrageous attack on our members with every fiber of our collective being."
Kelley said AFGE was "preparing immediate legal action" in response to Trump's order, and vowed to "fight relentlessly to protect our rights, our members, and all working Americans from these unprecedented attacks."
Both AFGE and the AFL-CIO said they would fight the order tooth and nail on behalf of federal workers—and all workers—who have a right to collective bargaining and not to be intimidated for organizing their workplaces, whether in the public or private sector.
"To every single American who cares about the fundamental freedom of all workers, now is the time to be even louder," said Shuler. "The labor movement is not about to let Trump and an un-elected billionaire destroy what we've fought for generations to build. We will fight this outrageous attack on our members with every fiber of our collective being."
Kelley said AFGE was "preparing immediate legal action" in response to Trump's order, and vowed to "fight relentlessly to protect our rights, our members, and all working Americans from these unprecedented attacks."
'Tyranny of the bosses': How Musk plans to trample workers’ rights across the board
Elon Musk at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland on February 20, 2025 (Gage Skidmore)
Alex Henderson
Billionaire Elon Musk, leader of Tesla, SpaceX and X.com and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is making it clear that no federal government agency in the U.S. is safe from mass layoffs. The Trump Administration and DOGE are drawing criticism not only from liberals and progressives, but also, from some Never Trump conservatives on the right.
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele, for example, are saying that while they are fine with fat and pork being trimmed from the federal government, the U.S. is facing a dangerous threat when vital experts — such as air traffic controllers, food inspectors and health officials — are being arbitrarily laid off.
In an article published by Salon on March 28, journalist James Hassett argues that the damage being inflicted by the DOGE layoffs goes way beyond putting so many federal employees out of work at once — it is an attack on workers' rights across the board.
"From arbitrary layoffs to intimidation tactics to targeted harassment," Hassett warns, "Elon Musk has brought the tyrannical practices of the corporate Americaworld to the federal government…. Musk has led his legally ambiguous 'Department of Government Efficiency,' known as DOGE, on a rampage across the federal services — an attack that resembles the ruthless cost-cutting of private equity acquisitions, or rather, Musk’s own disastrous takeover of Twitter."
Hassett adds, "With Trump's fawning approval, Musk is dismantling the American constitutional system, flouting federal law to purge perceived ideological enemies from the civil service and circumventing congressional authority by cutting off appropriated federal funding — and doing so in open defiance of the courts."
Describing Musk as a "corporate hatchet man," Hassett stresses that the DOGE head favors a workplace in which employees have few, if any, rights.
"Musk doesn't just bring Silicon Valley's 'disruptor' mindset to DC — he embodies the idea that the executive, whether a CEO or a president, should be the unbridled sovereign of his domain," Hassett explains. "A boss can hire and fire at will, cancel contracts and direct funding without any checks to his power. Now, Musk threatens to remake the federal government into a business — with the president as an all-powerful boss. Musk and Trump don’t just want the government to run like a business, they want to rule it like one. Welcome to the tyranny of the bosses…. It's not efficiency that Musk pursues, but authority."
James Hassett's full article for Salon is available at this link.
Elon Musk at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland on February 20, 2025 (Gage Skidmore)
Alex Henderson
March 28, 2025
ALTERNET
ALTERNET
Billionaire Elon Musk, leader of Tesla, SpaceX and X.com and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is making it clear that no federal government agency in the U.S. is safe from mass layoffs. The Trump Administration and DOGE are drawing criticism not only from liberals and progressives, but also, from some Never Trump conservatives on the right.
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele, for example, are saying that while they are fine with fat and pork being trimmed from the federal government, the U.S. is facing a dangerous threat when vital experts — such as air traffic controllers, food inspectors and health officials — are being arbitrarily laid off.
In an article published by Salon on March 28, journalist James Hassett argues that the damage being inflicted by the DOGE layoffs goes way beyond putting so many federal employees out of work at once — it is an attack on workers' rights across the board.
"From arbitrary layoffs to intimidation tactics to targeted harassment," Hassett warns, "Elon Musk has brought the tyrannical practices of the corporate Americaworld to the federal government…. Musk has led his legally ambiguous 'Department of Government Efficiency,' known as DOGE, on a rampage across the federal services — an attack that resembles the ruthless cost-cutting of private equity acquisitions, or rather, Musk’s own disastrous takeover of Twitter."
Hassett adds, "With Trump's fawning approval, Musk is dismantling the American constitutional system, flouting federal law to purge perceived ideological enemies from the civil service and circumventing congressional authority by cutting off appropriated federal funding — and doing so in open defiance of the courts."
Describing Musk as a "corporate hatchet man," Hassett stresses that the DOGE head favors a workplace in which employees have few, if any, rights.
"Musk doesn't just bring Silicon Valley's 'disruptor' mindset to DC — he embodies the idea that the executive, whether a CEO or a president, should be the unbridled sovereign of his domain," Hassett explains. "A boss can hire and fire at will, cancel contracts and direct funding without any checks to his power. Now, Musk threatens to remake the federal government into a business — with the president as an all-powerful boss. Musk and Trump don’t just want the government to run like a business, they want to rule it like one. Welcome to the tyranny of the bosses…. It's not efficiency that Musk pursues, but authority."
James Hassett's full article for Salon is available at this link.
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