During his presidential campaign last fall, Donald Trump consistently pledged to advocate for American workers. However, since his return to the White House, he has undertaken a surprising number of anti-worker initiatives, according to labor experts. Notable among these actions is undermining the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which will benefit Trump’s billionaire allies, particularly Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
In the initial weeks of his new term, Trump dismissed the acting chair of the NLRB, leaving the country’s primary labor oversight body without enough members to enforce laws that protect workers’ rights to unionize. He has appointed Musk, a staunch opponent of unions, to spearhead attacks against federal agencies and the workforce, treating over 2 million federal employees as expendable.
Trump did not stop there; he also removed two members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), crippling its ability to combat discrimination. His administration has let go of thousands of federal employees in a bid to reduce government size and dismantle what he calls the “deep state,” an action union leaders argue violates laws that stipulate due process and require evidence of poor performance for terminations.
“Donald Trump is proving that his claims to champion workers are empty,” stated Judy Conti, government affairs director at the National Employment Law Project, a worker advocacy group. “He surrounds himself with anti-worker individuals. Although he attempts to present a friendly façade, he fundamentally fails to support workers.”
In a controversial move, Trump encouraged federal employees to report their colleagues engaged in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Further angering both federal employees and the labor community, his administration announced plans to void agreements reached with federal employee unions during the last days of the Biden presidency.
Just hours after an American Airlines aircraft collided with an army helicopter over Washington DC, claiming 67 lives, Trump infuriated employees at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by denouncing DEI policies for creating incompetence and implying that many FAA personnel were unfit for their jobs. Additionally, he appointed Russell Vought, an architect of the controversial right-wing initiative Project 2025, to head the White House budget office. Project 2025 contains numerous anti-worker measures, including the proposal to abolish all employee unions within the federal government.
“Trump has already demonstrated that he is no ally to working people,” Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, the main union federation in the country, remarked in an interview. “The realities of Project 2025 are unfolding as we feared, and America’s workforce is at the center of these attacks.”
One significant move that alarmed labor leaders was Trump’s directive to terminate Gwynne Wilcox, the NLRB’s acting chair and a Democrat, despite her term extending until 2026 and the NLRB being an independent agency. This action left the five-member board with only two active members, preventing it from conducting official business (although regional offices may still function).
Wilcox characterized her dismissal as “unprecedented” and a “clear violation” of the law and is suing Trump for reinstatement. “He lacks the authority to dismiss a board member absent proof of neglect or wrongdoing,” Wilcox stated in an interview. She pointed out that Trump did not provide any rationale for her termination and did not offer prior notification or a chance for a hearing.
“Their intent was clearly to obstruct all operations,” Wilcox commented. “This action contradicts the agency’s purpose, which is to safeguard the rights of workers and enforce legal standards.”
In defending his action, the Trump administration claimed that Trump possessed the authority to terminate any executive branch employee as he sees fit. This assertion is likely to challenge all the way to the Supreme Court.
According to Shuler of the AFL-CIO, “We are vigorously contesting the illegal dismissal of Gwynne Wilcox. It achieved Trump’s goal of crippling the very agency that workers rely on during their organizing efforts and amidst the dangers of getting fired. They are no longer equipped with the board needed to protect them.” Harvard labor law professor Ben Sachs added, “If you support unions and workers’ rights to organize and negotiate collectively, then dismantling the NLRB is not the correct approach to demonstrate support for workers.”
Musk’s company SpaceX, accused by the NLRB of unlawfully terminating several workers, has filed a lawsuit in federal court to declare the NLRB unconstitutional. Similarly, Amazon, the company founded by Bezos, has launched a comparable lawsuit after the NLRB found numerous violations by Amazon in its efforts to thwart unionization.
“It’s evident that the corporations led by Musk and Bezos have articulated a pressing interest in dismantling the NLRB and have mobilized teams of attorneys to achieve that aim,” Sachs explained. “For now, they seem to have succeeded.” Should federal courts mandate Wilcox’s reinstatement, the NLRB would regain its quorum and be able to function effectively.
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Trump also dismissed two EEOC commissioners, Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, leaving the commission without a quorum. Additionally, he terminated members of two boards that handle cases from federal employees claiming wrongful termination or mistreatment: the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
“These agencies provide remedies for workers who believe their rights have been infringed,” remarked Conti of the National Employment Law Project. “In effect, they are paralyzing these boards from addressing worker grievances.”
Mark Gaston Pearce, executive director of the Workers’ Rights Institute at Georgetown University, expressed concern over the fact that Trump, rather than dismissing one of the NLRB’s two white members, chose to remove Wilcox, the sole African American woman ever to serve on the NLRB during its 90-year existence. Pearce asserted that the layoffs of hundreds of federal workers involved in DEI initiatives were disproportionately affecting workers of color. “It’s all a coded message aimed at eliminating people of color,” asserted Pearce.
An African American official who spent over 15 years in the Department of Education and requested anonymity revealed she was recently placed on paid administrative leave simply for having participated in a DEI training. She expressed uncertainty about her potential reinstatement. “They’re maligning the civil service,” she stated. “It feels like a backstab.”
Linda Ward-Smith, president of a union local for the American Federation of Government Employees that represents 4,000 workers in the Veterans Administration in Las Vegas, reported that many federal employees are disheartened by their treatment. “Workers tell me it’s a hostile environment due to the barrage of emails,” including Musk’s message to 2 million federal employees suggesting they consider buyouts and other communications indicating that the Trump administration seeks loyal personnel. “They are frightened,” she said. “They feel as if disaster is imminent.”
Ward-Smith remarked that Trump’s and Musk’s attacks on DEI programs have prompted many workers of color to reconsider their government positions. Several African American and female employees conveyed heightened feelings of unwelcome, particularly after Trump appointed individuals like Darren Beattie, a former Trump speechwriter, to significant roles, despite Beattie’s previous remark that “competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work.”
Conti defended the federal government’s longstanding efforts to enhance workforce diversity, stating, “The goal is to foster genuine meritocracy. It is not about setting quotas or excluding white individuals. It seeks to eliminate obstacles that disadvantaged groups—including people of color, women, LGBTQ individuals—face when competing for jobs they are qualified for.”
“It’s crucial for people to understand that this is not a targeted attack on employment practices perceived as excessive,” Conti continued. “This is a comprehensive initiative aimed at reversing our nation’s civil rights protections. Period.”
