President Trump’s Attacks: A Weekly Update to President Trump’s Anti-Labor Activity
August 20
At the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, each week as we weather the attacks on our labor movement, we will stand with our one million members and their families fighting for them everyday. 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!

Trump's Proposed Executive Order Would Eliminate Vote-By-Mail and Voting Machines

Trump seeks to create barriers for everyday working people's ability to exercise their fundamental right to vote. On Monday, Trump stated that he would issue an executive order that would eradicate mail-in ballots and voting machines before the 2026 Midterm elections, as reported by Reuters. 

Instead, Trump proposes using paper ballots and hand-counts, which would produce far less accurate results than machine counting.

However, as President, Trump does not have the power to change voting laws. According to the Constitution, states have the power to set the “times, places and manner” of elections with states, and only Congress has the power to override state laws on voting. Trump's executive order is expected to result in legal challenges from some states.

Since 2020, Trump has spread misinformation on the effectiveness of mail-in ballots, in an attempt to persuade the public that mail-in ballots and voting machines were susceptible to voter fraud. However, mail-in ballots continue to be a secure and convenient way to vote, removing barriers for those who are unable to vote-in person.
The Majority of Contracts for Union Members at the VA are to be Eradicated 

Due to President Trump's executive order in March, which is recognized as one of the most blatant union busting attacks, the Department of Veteran Affairs announced that they will be terminating the majority of their contracts with American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the National Association of Government Employees, the National Federation of Federal Employees, the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United, and the Service Employees International Union as reported by Federal News Network. 

This will impact as many as 377,000 union members who are nurses, doctors, housekeepers, maintenance workers, and food service workers. 

The announcement followed the federal appeals court's decision in California that lifted a lower court’s preliminary injunction that had blocked several federal agencies from canceling certain union contracts.

“The real reason [VA Secretary Doug Collins] wants AFGE out of the VA is because we have successfully fought against disastrous, anti-veteran recommendations from the Asset Infrastructure Review Commission which would have shut down several rural VA hospitals and clinics, opposed the Trump administration’s plan to dismantle veteran healthcare through the cutting of 83,000 jobs, and consistently educated the American people about how private, for-profit veteran healthcare is more expensive and results in worse outcomes for veterans,” said Everett Kelley the President of AFGE. “We don’t apologize for protecting veteran healthcare and will continue to fight for our members and the veterans they care for.”

A Key Agency for Unions will Remove Administrative Law Judges to Appease Trump

In an effort to comply with Trump administration's demands for Federal Agencies to adopt cost cutting measures, the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) told Congress that it would eliminate its administrative law judges, as reported by Huffpost. 

The FLRA is small but vital federal agency that protects union members when their rights have been violated. The administrative law judges play a vital role in the FLRA, and are responsible for conducting hearings on unlawful firings and union contract violations. The judges issue decisions that can be reviewed by the agency's three presidentially appointed members.

Without the politically neutral judges, the review of unfair labor practices and contract violations would be left entirely to the appointed members. With a vacancy, currently there are only two members. Trump fired former Democratic chair, Susan Tsui Grundmann, and appointed Republican member Colleen Duffy Kiko chair. The other remaining member, Anne Wagner is a Democrat.

If the judges are eliminated, it remains unclear if union members can count on the FLRA to protect their fundamental rights and adequately respond to unfair labor practices.

The Trump Administration Continues to Weaken the NLRB

The Acting General Counsel of the NLRB, William B. Cowen issued a memo to regional staff, telling them to consider deferring charges to grievance and arbitration processes set up in parties' collective bargaining agreements, as reported by Onlabor. The memo referred to the NLRB making efforts to "decreasing staffing levels, even as a backlog of cases continues to grow, due to the NLRB's inability to issue decisions, after Trump's decision to fire NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox.

If a case gets deferred, and falls under what is known as a Dubo deferral, it cannot be appealed. If a case falls under a Collyer deferral, deferral can be appealed but the charge will be dismissed if the party declines arbitration. Cowen has also called for more case settlements and for more referrals to the National Mediation Board.

This memo is bad news for union members who rely on the NLRB to adhere to proper grievance and arbitration processes to resolve their case.

As the Trump administration continues 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.

In Unity,