Labor Day, MAGA-Style: F*ck the Workers

Trump’s White House celebrates billionaires, fires thousands, and calls it patriotism. The American people deserve more than a line of bullshit.

Aug 31, 2025

It's already begun; Donald Trump and his administration are spewing a whole line of bullshit about how much they loooooovve American workers.

White House, August 28, 2025:
Every day, my Administration is restoring the dignity of labor and putting the American worker first… This Labor Day, we renew our pledge to protect American jobs and defend the dignity of American labor — and we proudly acknowledge the vital role that our workers play in our past, present, and glorious American future.

In reality, the second Trump administration has shown a level of disdain for American labor that I can only describe as shocking.

That the President genuinely seems to believe he can paint himself as some pro-worker man of the people, while simultaneously gutting our protections and making our lives harder… it’s rather disgusting, at least to me, and remarkably detached from reality.

So, let's walk through all the ways that Trump 2.0 has shat all over labor laws and protections… because the only thing he should be saying on Labor Day to American workers is the truth: “I betrayed you. Deal with it.”

Hiding the History

The entire administration’s inclusion of (and capitulation to) the interests of billionaires and big business shines through, even in their depiction of the history surrounding this holiday. Consider these two records:

History of Labor Day | U.S. Department of Labor

Labor Day 2025: Facts, Meaning & Founding | HISTORY CHANNEL

I copied and pasted both of the above articles into ChatGPT and asked it: How do these two sources tell the story of Labor Day differently?

The full text is here if you're interested, but the LLM summarized it like this:

Department of Labor tells a story of commemoration and honor, focusing on legislation, state adoption, and workers’ positive contributions to national strength.
History.com tells a story of struggle and conflict, connecting the holiday’s creation to industrial exploitation, strikes, and the government’s attempt to pacify labor unrest.

It's hard to understand exactly how workers are supposed to feel seen and understood if the cabinet can't even acknowledge that workers have fought tooth and nail for every right we have.

In This Year Alone

Just shy of eight (8) months into his administration, Donald Trump has made damn clear that workers are on their own:

Minimum Wage

Center for American Progress, August 27, 2025: “The administration has already cut minimum wage protections for hundreds of thousands of federal contract workers and halted plans to require companies to pay disabled workers at least $7.25 per hour; this Labor Day, it will advance plans to eliminate federal minimum wage protections for millions of child care and home care providers.”

Overtime

KHOU Houston News, August 8, 2025: “President Trump’s "no tax on overtime" law is now in effect but many workers are discovering they won’t get the full break they expected.”

Department of Labor - Enforcement Abilities

Economic Policy Institute, June 6, 2025: “In just a few months, the Trump administration has demonstrated its willingness to abandon workers and undermine their wages and working conditions. This includes repeated attacks to the Department of Labor (DOL)—the federal agency that oversees federal wage and hour laws, worker safety, workforce development, and employee benefits protection programs. Anti-worker nominations to key DOL positions—currently under Senate consideration—pose future risk to workers’ rights.”

Occupational Safety & Health Administration

Employers must provide a workplace free from serious recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.

Bloomberg Law, August 25, 2025: “The Trump administration is attacking its own agencies’ regulatory power on at least two fronts by invoking an argument companies raise in anti-government lawsuits. The Environmental Protection Agency has rejected its own authority to regulate greenhouse gases in a bid to loosen emissions standards by pointing to the US Supreme Court’s major questions doctrine. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the doctrine in identifiying a gap in its ability to require employers to provide safe workplaces, in an attempt to ease oversight.”

Equal Employment Opportunity Act

Protects discrimination in employment process
Provides a process for addressing violations
Prohibits retaliation for addressing violations

New York Times, July 31, 2025: “Under Ms. Lucas’s direction, the agency has reversed its traditional enforcement of transgender discrimination claims, dismissing cases it had previously filed on behalf of transgender employees and withholding state funds to process transgender discrimination claims. On Tuesday, legal groups filed a lawsuit against the E.E.O.C., alleging that the agency unlawfully refused to enforce federal workplace protections for transgender employees.”

30 Examples in the First 100 Days

One of the articles I cite most often in my work comes from the New York Times, where they tracked All of the Trump Administration's Major Moves in The First 100 Days.

I've gathered thirty (30) examples from that article, where the Trump administration made moves regarding labor and employment, or moves that affect workers broadly. As you read it, ask yourself how valuable workers should feel:

Made it easier for the president to fire federal employees — 1/20/2025
Halted civil rights work — 1/22/2025
Fired Democratic E.E.O.C. commissioners — 1/27/2025
Fired N.L.R.B. general counsel and Democratic board member — 1/28/2025
Blocked enforcement of environmental justice laws — 2/5/2025
Started firing probationary employees at the Education Department — 2/12/2025
Laid off dozens at the Office of Personnel Management — 2/13/2025
Laid off >1,000 at the Department of Veterans Affairs — 2/13/2025
Fired >2,000 probationary workers at the Interior Department — 2/17/2025
Fired 243 probationary T.S.A. employees — 2/20/2025
Laid off ~6,700 I.R.S. employees — 2/20/2025
Fired another 2,000 U.S.A.I.D. employees — 2/24/2025
Fired hundreds at N.O.A.A. — 2/27/2025
Began firing newly hired C.I.A. employees — 3/6/2025
Fired ~19 at N.A.S.A., including the chief scientist — 3/10/2025
Eliminated E.P.A. environmental-justice offices — 3/11/2025
Fired >1,300 Education Department workers — 3/11/2025
Cut and closed offices at S.A.M.H.S.A. — 3/12/2025
Abruptly canceled >$12B in state health grants — 3/26/2025
Announced 25% tariffs on imported cars and parts — 3/26/2025
Moved to strip labor protections from civil servants — 3/27/2025
Fired nearly all U.S.-based staff at the Institute of Peace — 3/29/2025
Said he “couldn’t care less” if tariffs raise car prices — 3/29/2025
Fired thousands of federal health workers — 4/1/2025
Fired >100 employees at Fannie Mae — 4/8/2025
Moved to dismantle AmeriCorps — 4/17/2025
Made tens of thousands of federal workers easier to fire — 4/18/2025
Resumed collections on defaulted federal loans, including wage garnishment — 4/21/2025
Made it easier to fire probationary federal employees — 4/24/2025
Proposed a budget cutting billions from federal programs — 4/25/2025

On a personal note, I have one more point to make:

The way Trump has treated federal workers this year is/was abusive, disgusting, likely illegal… and tells you everything you need to know about Trump's feelings toward workers. He wanted to reduce government bloat, yada yada, that's fine; He didn't have to kick them on their way out.

He didn't need to let a billionaire asshole torment them publicly. He didn't need to accuse them of being lazy and wasteful. Every single one of those public servants were still constituents of his… to celebrate about their loss of livelihood so publicly, with such glee, is something I'll never be able to forget.

Acting Against American Values

Some of the worst, most egregious examples of the straight disrespect to workers (and America at large) come from the policies the administration has enacted, and the stances they’ve taken, knowing the vast majority of us want the opposite.

Unions

68% of Americans approve of labor unions (Gallup, Aug 2025).

55% of Americans say labor unions positively affect the country, while 41% say they have a negative impact (Pew Research, Feb 2024).

They did it anyway.

Cutting Food Assistance

Reducing federal funding for food assistance to low-income households (23% support) and spending about $45 billion to build and maintain migrant detention centers (24%) are the least popular provisions of the bill, out of those included in this poll (Ipsos, Jun 2025).

They did it anyway.

Billions for Detention Centers

They did it anyway.

Tax Policy

Differences in attitudes toward tax cuts hold across partisanship. For example, most Democrats support extending the 2017 tax cuts for individuals with incomes under $100k (71%), while 17% support extending these tax cuts for individuals with incomes above $400k. Republicans (80%, 46%) and independents (72%, 28%) also feel similarly (Ipsos, Jun 2025).

They did it anyway.

It's hard to fathom how Americans will see the President as a representative of the people, if he continues to disregard policies we widely agree on. More on that later.

Investing Against Workers— Literally

The industries that the Trump administration has placed the most public investment in since taking office are (1) AI, which will absolutely replace workers, and (2) detention centers, which seem (to me) like part of a larger plan for a steady supply of sub-minimum wage workers. Neither are friendly to the concepts of humans or labor.

Data Centers

AI is fueling high demand for compute power, spurring companies to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure. But with future demand uncertain, investors will need to make calculated decisions (McKinsey & Company, Apr 2025).

The rising number of data centers being built across the U.S. is expected to drive up electricity bills on average by 8% nationwide through 2030, according to a new analysis from N.C. State University and Carnegie Mellon University (Axios, Aug 2025).

So-called “AI Action Plan”

Fifteen (15) different scholars came together at the Brookings Institution to offer their interpretations and the possible implications of the plan. I STRONGLY encourage reading the full article, but here are some highlights:

Plans to interfere with AI-generated speech are not neutral

The AI Action Plan states a goal of encouraging “freedom of speech” as AI is increasingly used to generate and shape how we communicate. This is an important goal, yet, what follows in the document is instead a plan to interfere with private company design and development decisions about speech by ensuring “…AI procured by the Federal government objectively reflects truth rather than social engineering agendas.”

The action plan adds fuel to the sovereign AI fire

As the leader in AI research, development, and investment, America has a lot to sell. But the AI stack order may make this sell harder. It envisions picking industry consortia that put together “a full-stack technology package”—including compute, data systems, models, and applications—that will be eligible for U.S. government promotion abroad.

AI's role in financial markets

The AI Action Plan does little to address concerns about implementing AI in financial services, particularly credit underwriting.

Gutting the NSF undermines America’s AI strategy before it starts

The Trump administration’s AI Action Plan signals a troubling shift away from safe, accountable AI toward rapid, private-sector-driven deployment. It touts openness, innovation, and American leadership, while simultaneously gutting the very agency it relies on to deliver those goals: the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Trump’s AI Action Plan needs agile governance

Its lack of focus on accountability, ethics, and transparency creates real risks and consequences when it comes to protecting the public from unregulated AI systems, erosion of privacy, algorithm bias, polarization, misinformation, exploitative surveillance, unchecked corporate control over critical technologies, unintended consequences on democratic governance, national security threats, and more.

Detention Centers

American Immigration Council, Jul 2025:

“Altogether, this marks the largest investment in detention and deportation in U.S. history; a policy choice that does nothing to address the systemic failures of our immigration system while inflicting harm, sowing chaos, and tearing families apart.”

Brennan Center for Justice, Jul 2025:

“President Trump’s budget bill will codify much of his immigration agenda, drastically changing the landscape of enforcement and detention. Significantly, the bill funds a giant immigration detention apparatus that would likely be difficult to dismantle under future presidents. This new money comes as the administration is thwarting attempts at congressional oversight of detention conditions — and alongside new levels of cruelty directed at undocumented immigrants.

The legislation makes U.S Immigration and Customs and Enforcement the largest federal law enforcement agency, giving it $45 billion for building new detention centers in addition to $14 billion for deportation operations. It also includes $3.5 billion for reimbursements to state and local governments for costs related to immigration-related enforcement and detention.”

Vera Institute, Jun 2025:

“But this expansion—indeed, immigration detention as a whole—is entirely unnecessary. The federal government’s own data shows that detention does not deter migration, and detention is not necessary to ensure that people appear in court for immigration hearings. As the United States has one of the highest incarceration rates globally, combatting civil immigration detention is inextricably linked with addressing our country’s mass incarceration crisis.”

TOTALLY UNRELATED FUN FACT:

There are 771,480 homeless people in the U.S.

Let's say the average rent is $2000/month, just to make the math easier.

So, the U.S. government could pay the rent of every single homeless person in America for two (2) FULL years, and it would cost them $37 billion.

They chose to do this instead.

Speaking of which…

If He Wanted To, He Would

Here's the most maddening part to me, as an ordinary American worker and voter:

There exist several policies where we WIDELY agree, by a lot, and they would have a HUGE positive effect on workers lives. But this administration hasn't touched them, and they aren't likely to in future:

80 percent of Americans polled by YouGov say new parents should have some form of paid leave, while half think they should get 12 weeks or more (Newsweek, Jan 2025).

Among ordinary Americans, more than 86 percent of both Democrats and Republicans support banning stock trading by members of Congress (The Hill, May 2025).

79% of Americans support raising the minimum age for gun ownership to 21 years (Pew Research, June 2023).

83% of adult U.S. citizens support preventing people with a history of mental illness from owning a gun. 74% of adult U.S. citizens support creating red flag laws that allow a court to temporarily remove guns from people that are believed to pose a danger to themself or others (YouGov, Oct 2023).

Partisans agree that health insurance companies have too much influence on debates about health policy – 71% of Republicans and 69% of Democrats say this, including those who lean to each party (Pew Research, July 2025).

We've watched over and over as Donald Trump tells his party to jump and they ask how high, so why can't he open his mouth for the policies that poll so high for Americans (particularly us workers) that politicians get jealous of their support?

I don't know the man. I can only guess, but I have some theories:

Sounds like real work
Requires tough conversations with billionaire buddies
The left supports it too, and their happiness is unbearable
Trump dgaf about workers

Could there be, perhaps, some truth in all those options? Only he knows for sure.

Workers Should Tell Trump to Shove His Labor Day Wishes Up His A**

More than 900 “Workers over Billionaires” Labor Day protests are set to take place nationwide tomorrow. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate.

Donald Trump’s second administration can dress itself up in pro-worker speeches all day long, but the record is undeniable: he’s spent this year stripping away labor rights, gutting protections, and mocking the very people he claims to champion.

From minimum wage rollbacks to attacks on unions and workplace safety, the pattern is consistent; a government openly serving billionaires while leaving ordinary Americans unprotected. This Labor Day, workers don’t need empty, meaningless words; we need leaders willing to fight for us instead of against us, and until that happens, every one of us should remember the truth: