Trump Joins Attack on Worker Freedoms

From the AFL-CIO

President Donald Trump has once again broken his word by siding with powerful corporations over regular working people. The Trump administration is seeking to abandon decades of settled law in order to take away the basic freedom of millions of working people to have a voice on the job. The U.S. Supreme Court case, Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, could undermine the ability of nurses, teachers and other public workers to negotiate over pay, benefits and workplace safety.

America’s labor movement urges Trump to stop backing powerful corporations and start supporting working people.

The Janus case is a well-funded and blatantly political plot to use the highest court in the land to further rig the economic rules against everyday working people.

The billionaire CEOs and corporate interests behind this case, and the politicians who do their bidding, have teamed up to strike at our freedom to come together in strong unions.

The people behind this case simply do not believe we should have the same freedoms they do: to negotiate a fair return on our work.

This is terrible for our families and our communities because:

  • Working people are the solution, not the problem. All across our country, we need to raise our voices for better pay and benefits and quality public services, not find ourselves gagged by billionaires.
  • Our communities need rising pay, not inequality. Inequality in America is at a record high. Taking away our freedoms to speak and assemble will only make it harder for us to win broadly shared prosperity.

“Arguing against our freedoms at work is not what working people expect of our government. Actions speak louder than words, Mr. President, and these actions do not support working families as you so often claim,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

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