Highlights:
VIDEO: Trump: “You've Got To Have Right To Work.” According to a Columbia, SC town hall via YouTube, “SCOTT: Staying on the jobs front, one of the amazing blessings of being a South Carolinian and, specifically, living in North Charleston is the presence of Boeing. TRUMP: Right. SCOTT: In South Carolina. My friend Jack Gowd has a question about the NLRB, who tried to destroy jobs. TRUMP: I know, I know what you folks went through with that for years. It was terrible. SCOTT: Talk to us about the right-to-work and laws that we have. TRUMP: You've got to have right to work. You got to have right to work.” [Columbia, SC Town Hall via YouTube, 9/23/15]
AUDIO: Trump Heaped Praise On Right To Work. According to South Carolina Radio Network via Youtube, "HOST: Well, let me ask you, South Carolina is attracting lots and lots of new companies, mainly because being a right to work state or non-union state. What's your position on unions? TRUMP: My position on unions is fine, but I like right to work. I mean , my position on right to work is 100% what they did with you, with Boeing making it so tough where you almost lost Boeing over it is horrible. I love what you're doing. And it right in this area. I mean, I love what what's happening. But you do have to be careful because now Boeing's building massive plants in China and, you know, these things don't last forever unless you're very smart. But Boeing is you know, China is forcing Boeing to build massive airline manufacturing plants. And you don't want to find in five years from now that the planes aren't going to be made here. They're going to be made in China. HOST: Are you OK, with unions? TRUMP: I can live with unions in certain locations. Don't forget, if you look at places like, you know, certain northeast areas and even that do well, they're mostly unionized. The Teamsters Union, as an example, you know, the workers, not the, not the top people, because I fight them all the time. But I fight the unions very hard, but there are certain areas of the country. You only have unions, you know, you don't have a right to work state. I like the right to work. But the union people, people that are in unions, they seem to really want to vote for me. It's been it's been amazing. It's been amazing. So we've had great support. You know, the bottom line, we've had great support from workers, people that work, the real workers. But I love the right to work and I like what you're doing here and right to work you like because it's either war. No, no, I like it. I like it better because it's lower. It's it's better for the people. You're not paying the big fees to the union. A union gets big fees. A lot of people don't realize they have to pay a lot of a lot of fees. I'm talking about the workers. They have to pay big fees. The union. I like it because it gives great flexibility to the people. It gives great flexibility to the companies.” [South Carolina Radio Network via YouTube, 2/17/16]
The Trump Administration Filed A Brief Before The Supreme Court In Favor Of Efforts To Undermine Public Sector Unions In Janus v. AFSCME. According to AFSCME, “Many Americans who voted for Donald Trump are fed up with a rigged system that favors corporations and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. They want an economy that works for them, too, and they want their voices to be heard. But the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have spent all year trying to rig the system even more in favor of corporations and extremely wealthy people. This includes trying to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to fund tax cuts for the rich, and when that failed, pushing a tax bill that is a giveaway to corporations and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. Add to this list the latest from the Trump administration. On Wednesday, the Office of the Solicitor General weighed in on Janus v. AFSCME, a case before the Supreme Court that pits corporations and the wealthy against public service workers. It was an opportunity for Trump to stand up for middle-class families, a chance for him to finally walk the walk when it came to his campaign promise to stand up for working people. Instead, his administration sided with corporations and the superrich – the very funders of the case – and against workers who form strong unions. In doing so, the Trump administration gave two thumbs up to so-called ‘right to work’ to become the law of the land.” [AFSCME, 2/7/17]
2018: The Supreme Ruled 5-4 That An Illinois Law That Required Non-Union Workers To Pay Fees That Went Towards Collective Bargaining. According to CNN, “The Supreme Court dealt a major blow to public sector unions on Wednesday in a case that could shake their financial structure and undermine their future stability. The justices struck down an Illinois law that required non-union workers to pay fees that go to collective bargaining and overturned a 1977 law that required employees to pay so-called ‘fair share’ fees. The ruling was 5-4 along familiar ideological lines, with conservative Justice Samuel Alito writing for the majority in a case that highlights how the blocking of President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee has dramatically changed the legal and political landscape.” [CNN, 6/27/18]
Trump Nominee, Neil Gorsuch, Was The Deciding Vote. According to CNN, “The Trump Supreme Court also issued a devasting ruling against public sector unions, which represent almost as many union members as found at private businesses. The 2018 decision, with Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, providing the deciding fifth vote, makes it easier for government employees nationwide to not pay union dues even if their workplace is unionized.” [CNN, 9/27/23]
Vox: The Janus Decision “Dramatically Undermines Unions For Teachers, Firefighters, Police Officers, And Other Public Employees.” According to Vox, “The Supreme Court has issued a sweeping ruling that dramatically undermines unions for teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees throughout the United States. The case, Janus v. AFSCME, involved a challenge to the practice of public sector unions charging ‘agency fees’ to employees who decline to join the union but who still benefit from the deals it bargains. The fees are typically similar to, but a bit lower than, union dues. In a 5-4 opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito and joined by the four other conservative justices (Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, and Neil Gorsuch), the Court ruled that requiring public employees to pay agency fees is unconstitutional under the First Amendment.” [Vox, 6/14/18]
2011: Trump Agreed That Scott Walker’s Union Policies Were “Right” For Wisconsin. According to Fox News, “[O'REILLY] What do you think about the unions? [TRUMP] I have a great relationship with unions. I understand what's happening, let's say in Wisconsin. I understand. [O'REILLY] Is Walker right in Wisconsin? [TRUMP] I think that he is maybe right for his state. I think it doesn't necessarily apply to all states. You know, I have had great relationship over the years with unions. We've had collective bargaining. I have become very wealthy. I have dealt with unions because, as you know, New York is largely unions. You are dealing with them. I have great friends that are in unions and heads of unions. So I haven't had the same difficulty and problem. But I think you have to do what's right for your area. I respect him. He is tough. [O'REILLY] Walker, you're talking about. [TRUMP] Yes. He is unyielding and maybe sometimes too unyielding and maybe not too unyielding. He wants Wisconsin to come back. He wants to have a great balanced budget. So I understand what he is doing.” [Fox News, 3/30/11]
2011: Walker Introduced Legislation That Effectively Eliminated Collective Bargaining Rights For State And Local Government Employees. According to Wisconsin Public Radio, “When tens of thousands of union members and supporters flocked to the state Capitol a decade ago, they warned that Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining bill could redefine organized labor in Wisconsin. They were right. Walker, a freshly sworn in Republican, formally introduced the plan on Feb. 11, 2011, describing it as a ‘modest’ change aimed at shoring up the state budget. But the bill he introduced went well beyond financial concessions. It effectively eliminated long-held bargaining rights for a wide range of state and local government employees, from teachers to clerical workers to prison guards.” [Wisconsin Public Radio, 2/11/21]
Under Walker’s Policy, Public Sector Unions Could Only Bargain For A Raise Equal To Or Less Than The Consumer Price Index. According to Wisconsin Public Radio, “Before 2011, public sector unions in Wisconsin had the power to collectively bargain over a wide range of issues, like salary, benefits and working conditions. Now, most public sector unions can only bargain for a raise that’s no higher than the consumer price index.” [Wisconsin Public Radio, 2/11/21]
AUDIO: Trump: “People Have To Be Given Their Choice. There’s Some People Who Do Not Want To Be In A Union, And Then There Are Other People They Feel More Comfortable In The Union.” According to Newsday via SoundCloud, “HOST: What’s your sense of public-sector unions, where these days the teachers’ unions or municipal unions, where they’re getting so much bigger benefits and pensions, and things that people like private workers aren’t getting anymore? How do you see those? TRUMP: Well, I think we have to be very careful with public-sector unions. But they’re not necessarily a force for bad, but I think we have to be very, very, very, very, I think we have to give people their choice. You know, people shouldn’t be forced to be union, non-union. They have to have choice. And you know, a lot of places, it’s very hard, if you’re a unionized area, it’s very hard to go other than union. People have to be given their choice. There’s some people who do not want to be in a union, and then there are other people they feel more comfortable in the union. But people, we have to give choice. And I think it’s so important. And I see it all the time because I deal in both sectors. I deal, I mean Florida is a great example. It’s just the opposite of New York in that sense.” [Newsday via SoundCloud, 4/16/16]