On May Day, Over 50 Ways Trump Has Hurt Workers

As we honor the contributions of workers this International Workers Day, here’s a look at more than 50 of the many ways Trump has hurt workers so far during his presidency:

 

  1. Trump ended DACA, sabotaged every bipartisan fix, and rescinded TPS for hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Together, these actions could force more than a million working people back into the shadows.

 

  1. Most Americans haven’t seen any benefit from the Trump tax.

 

  1. The Trump tax  raises taxes on individuals by a cumulative $83 billion in 2027, and raises taxes on average for everyone earning under $75,000 by 2027.

 

  1. The Trump tax actually promotes outsourcing.

 

  1. In many cases, the Trump Tax actually incentivizes corporations to lay off workers.

 

  1. Republicans have touted one-time bonuses for workers – not the longer-term wage increases they promised – that amount to less than three percent of what corporate shareholders are reaping from the Trump tax.

 

  1. Companies that Trump and Republicans touted for giving one-time bonuses to employees have been simultaneously laying off their workers.

 

  1. Corporations are using tax savings to massively benefit shareholders and executives while barely increasing wage growth.

 

  1. Nearly half of the economic growth from the Trump tax will flow to foreign investors rather than Americans over the next decade.

 

  1. Corporations are using their massive windfalls to benefit their wealthy shareholders in record numbers, and most have no plans for those benefits to trickle down to workers.

 

  1. The Trump tax gives the richest one percent of Americans an average tax break of about $33,000 this year, while lower-income Americans an average tax break of just $40 – that’s more than 800 times more.

 

  1. Treasury proposed scrapping a requirement that companies disclose the pay ratio between chief executives and employees.

 

  1. Trump’s Labor Department rescinded a rule meant to fight worker misclassification and protect workers from being cheated out of their wages.

 

  1. Trump’s Labor Department proposed eliminating protections against employers from pooling, and potentially stealing, workers’ tips.

 

  1. Trump’s NLRB overturned a rule that would have made it easier for franchise workers to collectively bargain with big corporations.

 

  1. Trump’s Justice Department reversed the government’s long-standing position on union fees, setting the stage to undermine public-sector unions.  

 

  1. Trump’s Labor Department stopped publicizing fines against companies accused of violating workplace safety rules, eliminating a major tool for workplace safety enforcement.

 

  1. Trump’s budget cut funding by nearly half for Adult Employment and Training Activities, which serve veterans, Native Americans, and young people who have dropped out of high school.

 

  1. Trump’s budget would cut $407 million in spending on Jobs Corps centers for disadvantaged youth.

 

  1. Trump’s budget would freeze funding for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) grants for adult, youth, and dislocated worker training at FY 17 levels.

 

  1. Trump’s budget cut funding for National Dislocated Worker Grants, which offer support for those who lose their jobs in natural disasters or factory closures.

 

  1. Trump’s budget cuts Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding, which states use for employment services and job training.

 

  1. Trump’s budget got rid of USDA’s Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program, which help spur job creation and economic growth in rural areas.

 

  1. Trump’s budget has no specific proposals for creating jobs for those who want them but can’t find them.

 

  1. Trump’s budget eliminates $11 million in grants for OSHA programs.

 

  1. Trump’s budget eliminates an OSHA program that provides training and education on workplace safety and health hazards

 

  1. Trump signed a bill that rolled back OSHA worker safety regulations that aimed to track and reduce workplace injuries and deaths.

 

  1. Trump rescinded a rule that gave OSHA authority to issue citations and levy fines against companies for failing to record illnesses, injuries, and deaths.

 

  1. The Trump administration delayed action on a rule that would require employers to electronically report workplace injuries so they can be posted for the public.

 

  1. The Trump administration rolled back Obama-era changes that required OSHA to disclose workplace deaths and injuries.

 

  1. The Trump administration delayed a rule intended to sharply lower occupational exposure to beryllium, a widely used mineral linked to a deadly lung disease.

 

  1. The number of workplace safety inspectors sharply declined under Trump as his administration dragged its feet on filling OSHA vacancies.

 

  1. Trump repealed the “blacklisting rule,” which had required federal contractors to disclose labor violations.

 

  1. Trump’s budget proposed eliminating the Chemical Safety Board, which investigates major industrial accidents.

 

  1. Trump proposed gutting the Labor Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs’ budget from $86 million to $19 million, which helps ensure American workers can compete on a level playing field.

 

  1. The Trump administration planned to disband the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which has policed discrimination among federal contractors for four decades.

 

  1. Trump’s budget proposed that the Labor Department’s compliance division be folded into the EEOC, even though it historically only acts on complaints instead of systematically conducting audits.

 

  1.  Trump’s Justice Department sided against workers in a Supreme Court battle over employers enforcing arbitration agreements that prevent workers’ ability to join together in collective lawsuits or arbitrations.

 

  1. The Trump administration delayed implementation of the Fiduciary Rule, aimed at protecting retirement savers against brokers’ conflicts-of-interest.

 

  1. Trump proposed cuts to key economic development programs for rural areas and farm workers.

 

  1. Despite Trump’s “Hire American” rhetoric, his properties have requested permission to bring in hundreds of foreign workers.

 

  1. Trump’s infrastructure plan does not provide adequate financing and could increase costs for working families.

 

  1. Trump’s executive order targeting Medicaid, nutrition assistance, housing assistance, and other safety net programs would make it harder for low-wage workers to feed their families and search for higher-paying jobs.

 

  1. Trump repeatedly supported Republican plans to repeal Obamacare that would have led to fewer employers offering health insurance to their workers.

 

  1. Republican ACA repeal plans would threaten the flexibility that the ACA gave middle- and working-class Americans to change jobs or careers without worrying about how they would stay insured.

 

  1. The Trump administration tried to make it easier for employers to refuse to offer contraceptive coverage in their employees’ health insurance plans.

 

  1. The Trump administration is in the process of expanding the availability of association health plans, which have a long history of fraud and abuse that have left employers and employees with hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid medical bills.

 

  1. Trump halted an Obama-era rule that would have required large companies to report what they pay employees by race and gender to help shrink the wage gap.

 

  1. Trump’s moves would make it easier for corporations to pay women less.

 

  1. Trump revoked the 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Order that ensured companies with federal contracts complied with labor and civil rights laws.

 

  1. Trump’s executive order reversing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order could make it harder for workers to report sexual harassment and fight gender discrimination.

 

  1. Trump’s Labor Department planned to relax Obama-era pay discrimination policies and let businesses shape investigations of federal contractors.

 

  1. After lobbying from Wall Street, Trump signed a repeal of an Obama-era measure designed to help workers without 401(k) plans save for retirement.

 

  1.  The Trump administration abandoned an Obama-era rule that would have expanded overtime pay eligibility to millions more workers.

 

  1. Trump blocked an Obama-era rule that would have made it easier for farmers to sue big agricultural companies.

 

  1. Trump’s DOJ said employers could fire employees based on their sexual orientation, directly contradicting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

 

  1. The Trump administration reversed a 2014 memo that protected transgender workers from discrimination.

 

  1. Trump’s Labor Department reissued guidance on the Fair Labor Standards Act that could allow employers to avoid paying overtime and complying with other labor protections.