Highlights:
2019: Trump Was Silent During UAW’s Six-Week Strike Against General Motors. According to Politico, “Meanwhile, his administration pursued policies that were hardly union-friendly — limiting employees’ rights to organize in certain types of workplaces and lowering the standard to rid workplaces of a union, for example. And when the UAW waged a six-week strike against GM in 2019, Trump mostly stayed silent, even as his administration quietly floated the possibility that he might intervene on the union’s behalf.” [Politico, 9/21/23]
During Its First Two Years The Trump Administration Rolled Back Worker Safety Protections Affecting Several Industries, Including Mining, Offshore Oil Drilling, And Meat Processing. According to Politico, “But almost two years in, the Trump administration has done the opposite, rolling back worker safety protections affecting underground mine safety inspections, offshore oil rigs and line speeds in meat processing plants, among others.” [Politico, 9/3/18]
Trump’s Moves To Deregulate Worker Safety Were At Odds With His Public Stance Championing Working Class Americans. According to Politico, “When President Donald Trump came into office pledging to cut regulations ‘massively,’ he made a point of exempting regulations that protected workers’ health. […] Trump’s deregulatory moves on worker safety are at odds with his public stance as a champion of working class Americans, but consistent with his naming two management-side attorneys bent on rolling back economic protections for workers to the National Labor Relations Board, which regulates labor unions, and with his nominations of two reliably pro-management jurists to a now-Republican-majority Supreme Court that recently dealt a heavy financial blow to public-employee unions.” [Politico, 9/3/18]
Trump Cancelled Or Delayed At Least 1,500 Regulatory Actions. According to Politico, “‘We want to protect our workers,’ President Trump repeated one year later in a speech touting the cancellation or delay of 1,500 regulatory actions.” [Politico, 9/3/18]
Scalia Represented Walmart And Boeing In Fights Against Employee Health Care And Unions. According to The New York Times, “Mr. Scalia also represented Walmart in a fight against a Maryland law that would have required it to spend more on health care and Boeing in a case involving a union that accused it of violating labor law." [New York Times, 9/26/19]
Scalia Spent His Career Defending Corporations, Not Workers, In Labor Disputes. According to Vox, “However, like many people Trump nominates to head federal departments, Scalia doesn’t have a great track record of fighting for the people or institutions he’s supposed to protect — which in this case is workers. […] Scalia has spent the past 20 years working as a high-profile lawyer in the Washington office of Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher, a prominent corporate law firm. His legal record involves fighting labor laws on behalf of America’s largest businesses, including Wall Street banks, Walmart, and SeaWorld. [...] However, a few kind words for labor unions hardly cancel out decades spent fighting workers in court.” [Vox, 9/27/19]
During The Pandemic, Scalia’s Labor Department Limited Access To Unemployment Benefits. According to the Washington Post, “The Labor Department is facing growing criticism over its response to the coronavirus pandemic as the agency plays a central role in ensuring that the tens of millions of workers affected by the crisis get assistance. The criticism ranges from direct actions that the agency has taken to limit the scope of worker assistance programs to concerns that it has not been aggressive enough about protecting workers from health risks or supporting states scrambling to deliver billions in new aid. In recent days, Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, who has expressed concerns about unemployment insurance being too generous, has used his department’s authority over new laws enacted by Congress to limit who qualifies for joblessness assistance and to make it easier for small businesses not to pay family leave benefits. The new rules make it more difficult for gig workers such as Uber and Lyft drivers to get benefits, while making it easier for some companies to avoid paying their workers coronavirus-related sick and family leave.” [Washington Post, 4/10/20]
Scalia’s Labor Department Made It Easier For Employers To Not Pay For Family Leave Benefits. According to the Washington Post, “The Labor Department is facing growing criticism over its response to the coronavirus pandemic as the agency plays a central role in ensuring that the tens of millions of workers affected by the crisis get assistance. The criticism ranges from direct actions that the agency has taken to limit the scope of worker assistance programs to concerns that it has not been aggressive enough about protecting workers from health risks or supporting states scrambling to deliver billions in new aid. In recent days, Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, who has expressed concerns about unemployment insurance being too generous, has used his department’s authority over new laws enacted by Congress to limit who qualifies for joblessness assistance and to make it easier for small businesses not to pay family leave benefits. The new rules make it more difficult for gig workers such as Uber and Lyft drivers to get benefits, while making it easier for some companies to avoid paying their workers coronavirus-related sick and family leave.” [Washington Post, 4/10/20]
Trump Called UAW President Shawn Fain “A Stupid Person.” According to the Guardian, “The United Auto Workers’ decision to endorse Kamala Harris’s presidential run has apparently gotten under the skin of Donald Trump, who has responded by insulting the union’s leader as ‘a stupid person.’ In a new interview with Fox News on Sunday, as reported by the Hill, the former president said of union chief Shawn Fain: ‘Look, the United Auto Workers I know very well – they vote for me. They have a stupid person leading them, but they vote for me. They’re going to love Donald Trump more than ever before.’” [Guardian, 8/4/24]
Trump Praised Elon Musk For Firing Striking Workers At Tesla. According to The Hill, “Harris’s campaign account on X promoted Trump’s comments praising Musk for firing striking workers at Tesla. ‘I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike, and you say, ‘that’s OK, you’re all gone,'’ Trump said.” [The Hill, 8/12/24]
The UAW Filed Federal Labor Charges Against Trump And Musk For Advocating For The Illegal Firing Of Striking Workers. According to the Detroit Free Press, “The UAW says it has filed federal labor charges against Donald Trump and Elon Musk, referring to them as disgraced billionaires and accusing them of illegally attempting to threaten and intimidate workers engaged in protected concerted activity. The union said the two on Monday held a ‘rambling, disorganized conversation’ following significant technical delays on X, the Musk-owned social media platform formerly known as Twitter, in front of more than 1 million listeners in which they advocated for the illegal firing of striking workers. According to the UAW, Trump, the Republican nominee for president, told Musk, ‘I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in, you say, 'You want to quit?' They go on strike, I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike and you say, 'That’s OK, you’re all gone. You’re all gone. So, every one of you is gone.'’” [Detroit Free Press, 8/13/24]
Two Of Trump’s National Labor Relations Board Appointees Were Management-Side Attorneys Who Wanted To Roll Back Worker Protections. According to Politico, “When President Donald Trump came into office pledging to cut regulations ‘massively,’ he made a point of exempting regulations that protected workers’ health. […] Trump’s deregulatory moves on worker safety are at odds with his public stance as a champion of working class Americans, but consistent with his naming two management-side attorneys bent on rolling back economic protections for workers to the National Labor Relations Board, which regulates labor unions, and with his nominations of two reliably pro-management jurists to a now-Republican-majority Supreme Court that recently dealt a heavy financial blow to public-employee unions.” [Politico, 9/3/18]
Trump Appointed Peter Robb As General Counsel To The NLRB. According to the New York Times, “The Biden administration fired the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, a Trump appointee deeply unpopular with prominent labor unions, according to a White House official. The term of the current general counsel, Peter B. Robb, was not supposed to expire until November, but the administration has a rarely used right to oust him or her prematurely. The general counsel, a Senate-confirmed official, is charged with enforcing the labor rights of private-sector employees and has substantial discretion over which cases the agency brings.” [New York Times, 1/20/21]
New York Times: Robb Was “Deeply Unpopular With Prominent Labor Unions.” According to the New York Times, “The Biden administration fired the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, a Trump appointee deeply unpopular with prominent labor unions, according to a White House official. The term of the current general counsel, Peter B. Robb, was not supposed to expire until November, but the administration has a rarely used right to oust him or her prematurely. The general counsel, a Senate-confirmed official, is charged with enforcing the labor rights of private-sector employees and has substantial discretion over which cases the agency brings.” [New York Times, 1/20/21]
Robb Proposed Demoting Government Officials Who Resolved The NLRB’s Cases. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Robb was a polarizing figure who once proposed demoting the senior government officials who resolve most of the agency’s cases and whom unions accused of seeking to settle a high-profile case against McDonald’s to avoid an adverse decision against the company.” [New York Times, 1/20/21]
Unions Accused Robb Of Seeking To Settle A High-Profile Case Against McDonalds To Benefit The Company. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Robb was a polarizing figure who once proposed demoting the senior government officials who resolve most of the agency’s cases and whom unions accused of seeking to settle a high-profile case against McDonald’s to avoid an adverse decision against the company.” [New York Times, 1/20/21]
New York Times: Before Joining The Trump Administration, Robb “Spent Most Of His Career Representing Employers.” According to the New York Times, “Before taking over as the labor board’s general counsel in 2017, he spent most of his career representing employers. He worked on behalf of the Reagan administration in litigation against the union representing air traffic controllers who illegally went on strike in 1981.” [New York Times, 1/20/21]
Trump Appointed A Majority Of The Members Of The NLRB. According to Politico, “Trump’s appointees as the majority on the National Labor Relations Board limited workers’ rights to organize on employers’ property, as well as the scope of who should be included in particular bargaining units. Biden’s appointees to the NLRB have subsequently worked to dismantle much of the Trump board’s legacy.” [Politico, 9/21/23]
Trump’s NLRB Majority Limited Workers’ Rights To Organize On Company Property. According to Politico, “Trump’s appointees as the majority on the National Labor Relations Board limited workers’ rights to organize on employers’ property, as well as the scope of who should be included in particular bargaining units. Biden’s appointees to the NLRB have subsequently worked to dismantle much of the Trump board’s legacy.” [Politico, 9/21/23]
Trump’s NLRB Ruled That Businesses Can Ban Workers From Using Company Email For Union And Organizing Purposes. According to Bloomberg, “Businesses can ban workers from using company email for union and other organizing purposes, the National Labor Relations Board decided in a Dec. 17 decision. The 3-1 ruling in favor of Caesars Entertainment effectively revokes a right granted in 2014 to workers who have access to employers’ email systems for other reasons, and overturns the 5-year-old Purple Communications Inc. ruling issued under a Democratic-majority board.” [Bloomberg, 12/17/19]
Trump’s NLRB Majority Limited The Scope Of Who Could Be Included In Bargaining Units. According to Politico, “Trump’s appointees as the majority on the National Labor Relations Board limited workers’ rights to organize on employers’ property, as well as the scope of who should be included in particular bargaining units. Biden’s appointees to the NLRB have subsequently worked to dismantle much of the Trump board’s legacy.” [Politico, 9/21/23]
Trump’s NLRB Lowered The Standard For Employers To Remove An Existing Union And Ruled In Favor Of Employers For Setting Handbook Rules. According to Politico, “The Trump-led NLRB also lowered the standard needed for employers to oust an existing union and ruled in employers’ favor on setting handbook rules, a seemingly small issue but one that carries big implications for workplace standards.” [Politico, 9/21/23]
Trump’s NLRB Made It Easier For Employers To Classify Workers As Independent Contractors. According to Politico, “The board under Trump further made it easier for employers to classify workers as independent contractors, rather than employees, meaning those workers could no longer be covered by the law protecting employees’ rights to organize or collectively bargain.” [Politico, 9/21/23]
Between Trump’s Inauguration Day And End Of June 2020, The Department Of Labor Certified 1,996 Petitions Related To Companies Shifting Work Overseas. According to Bloomberg, “Between Trump’s inauguration day and the end of June this year, the Labor Department certified 1,996 petitions related to companies shifting work overseas. Those petitions covered 184,888 jobs in fields ranging from manufacturing to back-office functions for financial services companies. In other words, offshoring didn’t stop in the Trump administration.” [Bloomberg, 10/22/20]
For The Equivalent Period Under Obama, The Department Of Labor Certified 1,811 Petitions. According to Bloomberg, “For the equivalent period of President Barack Obama’s second term, the Labor Department actually certified fewer petitions covering fewer jobs. (1,811 petitions affecting 172,336 jobs). Which in theory means 12,552 more jobs left the U.S. in the first three-and-a-half years of the Trump presidency than did in the equivalent period of the presidential term immediately before.” [Bloomberg, 10/22/20]
2005: Trump: “If A Company’s Only Means Of Survival Is By Farming Jobs Outside Its Walls, Then Sometimes It’s A Necessary Step.” According to the New York Times, “While Mr. Trump has for years railed against trade and currency policies that he says are unfair, he has not always been opposed to outsourcing. Writing on the Trump University blog in 2005, Mr. Trump acknowledged that foreign labor was sometimes needed to keep American companies from going out of business. ‘If a company’s only means of survival is by farming jobs outside its walls, then sometimes it’s a necessary step,’ Mr. Trump wrote. ‘The other option might be to close its doors for good.’” [New York Times, 6/30/16]
Trump: Outsourcing Creates Jobs In The Long Run [Trump University via Wayback Machine, 8/29/05]
Trump: “I Have To Take The Unpopular Stance That” Outsourcing “Is Not Always A Terrible Thing.” According to a blog post by Donald Trump published on the Trump University website, “We hear terrible things about outsourcing jobs--how sending work outside of our companies is contributing to the demise of American businesses. But in this instance I have to take the unpopular stance that it is not always a terrible thing. I understand that outsourcing means that employees lose jobs. Because work is often outsourced to other countries, it means Americans lose jobs. In other cases, nonunion employees get the work. Losing jobs is never a good thing, but we have to look at the bigger picture.” [Trump University via Wayback Machine, 8/29/05]
2015: Trump Suggested Moving Car Production From Michigan To Lower Wage States As A Way To Keep Companies From Moving To Mexico. According to the Detroit News, “Donald Trump is making the future of U.S. auto production a cornerstone of his campaign for the Republican nomination for president. Trump disclosed in an interview with The Detroit News Wednesday that Ford CEO Mark Fields wrote to him explaining the automaker’s planned $2.5 billion investment in Mexico after Trump criticized Ford in June. And Trump suggested one way to stop automakers’ expansion to Mexico is by moving some production out of Michigan to lower-wage states.” [Detroit News, 8/12/15]
Trump: “You Can Go To Different Parts Of The United States And Then Ultimately You’d Do Full-Circle — You’ll Come Back To Michigan Because Those Guys Are Going To Want Their Jobs Back Even If It Is Less” According to the Detroit News, “He said U.S. automakers could shift production away from Michigan to communities where autoworkers would make less. ‘You can go to different parts of the United States and then ultimately you’d do full-circle — you’ll come back to Michigan because those guys are going to want their jobs back even if it is less,’ Trump said. ‘We can do the rotation in the United States — it doesn’t have to be in Mexico.’” [Detroit News, 8/12/15]
2011: Trump Agreed That Scott Walker’s Anti-Union Policies Were “Right For His State.” 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: Trump On Walker’s Anti-Union Fight: “He Wants To Have A Great Balanced Budget. So I Understand What He Is Doing.” 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]
Trump’s 2017 Tax Law Eliminated Deductions Of Union Dues. According to the Internal Revenue Service, “Tax reform that affects both individuals and businesses was enacted in December 2017. It’s commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, TCJA or simply tax reform. In addition to nearly doubling standard deductions, TCJA changed several itemized deductions that can be claimed on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions. […] Previously, when a taxpayer itemized, they could deduct the amount of their miscellaneous itemized deductions that exceeded 2 percent of their adjusted gross income. These expenses are no longer deductible. This includes unreimbursed employee expenses such as uniforms, union dues and the deduction for business-related meals, entertainment and travel. It also includes deductions for tax preparation fees and investment expenses, such as investment management fees, safe deposit box fees and investment expenses from pass-through entities.” [Internal Revenue Service, 6/17/22]
Rolling Stone: Trump's Tax Cut "Showered Wealth On The Richest, Offering The Middle Class A Drop In The Bucket." According to Rolling Stone, “This cycle has played out twice in plain view: First with Trump’s 2017 tax cut, which showered wealth on the richest, offering the middle class a drop in the bucket, and now with a pandemic response that has inflated the wealth of billionaires, even as main-street America reels under a Depression-level crisis.” [Rolling Stone, 10/26/20]
Trump's Tax Plan Threatened The Middle Class For The Benefit Of The Rich. According to Center for American Progress, “It finds that middle-class and working families stand to lose dearly under the Trump tax plan in numerous ways: Many middle-class and working families would see tax hikes under the parameters the administration has laid out, even as the plan drastically reduces revenue. Many more families could lose under hidden parts of the plan, which the administration has yet to make public. The Trump tax plan’s massive tax cuts for the rich would threaten investments and programs that serve middle-class and working families, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.” [Center for American Progress, 6/13/17]
Trump’s Tax Law Included A $1.35 Trillion Handout To Big Corporations. According to Rolling Stone, “Income-tax cuts generated an extra $50,0000 a year for America’s highest earners. But the real benefit, $1.35 trillion, went to corporations — and by extension to their top executives and shareholders.” [Rolling Stone, 10/26/20]
Economic Nobel Laureate: Trump’s Tax Law Was Slated To Raise Taxes On About 65% Of Taxpayers By 2027. According to an op-ed in the New York Times by economic Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, “President Trump and his congressional allies hoodwinked us. The law they passed initially lowered taxes for most Americans, but it built in automatic, stepped tax increases every two years that begin in 2021 and that by 2027 would affect nearly everyone but people at the top of the economic hierarchy. All taxpayer income groups with incomes of $75,000 and under — that’s about 65 percent of taxpayers — will face a higher tax rate in 2027 than in 2019.” [New York Times, Op-ed, 10/31/23]
Trump At Tax Cut Bill Signing Suggested Corporations Would Be “Giving Billions And Billions Of Dollars Away To Their Workers” As A Result Of The Legislation. According to remarks made by Trump at the signing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, “So I don’t think we’re going to have to do much selling. I think the corporations that are giving billions and billions of dollars away to their workers — and many more are coming — I think that’s really what’s selling this maybe better than anybody could, including myself.” [White House Briefing Room, 12/22/17]
After Factoring In Inflation And Fringe Benefits, Between 2016 And 2019, Wages Actually Declined .22%. According to the Conversation, “From December 2016 to September 2019, nominal wages rose 6.79% from $22.83 to $24.38. But after factoring in inflation, average wages barely budged, climbing just 0.42% in the period. Incorporating fringe benefits into the picture adds another wrinkle. The inflation-adjusted or real value of fringe benefits, which include compensation that comes in the form of health insurance, retirement and bonuses, declined 1.7% in the three-year period. Altogether, that means total real compensation slipped 0.22% from the end of 2016 to September 2019. “ [Conversation, 2/28/20]
After Inflation And Fringe Benefits Are Accounted For, Under Trump, Compensation For Manufacturing Workers Decreased 4.33%. According to the Conversation, “The nominal data for manufacturing workers hardly support a boom but they do show an increase of 2.22% since Donald Trump took office. The adjusted data, however, make it look more like a bust, with wages plunging 3.88% in the period. And, again, the situation is worse when we add in fringe benefits, which brings the decline to 4.33%.” [Conversation, 2/28/20]
Report: “Claims That The TCJA Spurred Worker Bonuses And Wage Increases Were Baseless PR And Are Not Supported By Serious Analysis.” According to a report by the Center for Popular Democracy and the Economic Policy Institute, “In reality, corporations’ claims that the TCJA spurred worker bonuses and wage increases were baseless PR and are not supported by serious analysis. Remember the theoretical chain of reasoning that argues cutting corporate taxes will lead to higher wages. Investment decisions must be made and undertaken, then productivity growth has to perk up, then productivity gains have to be translated into wage gains. None of this would be expected to happen in 2017 – even before the TCJA took effect. Given that corporate rates were going to be cut in 2018, there was an economic incentive for firms to front-load any planned bonuses or raises in 2017. Labor costs can be deducted from corporate income for taxes and any tax deduction is more valuable when tax rates are higher. But even with this incentive, the empirical heft of bonuses given at the end of 2017 was tiny. In the last quarter of 2017, despite there being a large tax incentive to give workers planned bonuses before the TCJA lowered corporate income tax rates, bonuses accounted for just 2.7 percent of workers’ total compensation. As a comparison, in the last quarter of 2016, bonuses accounted for 2.5 percent of workers’ total compensation. This rise essentially put less than a dime per hour extra in workers’ pay on average for the last three months of 2017.” [Center for Popular Democracy and Economic Policy Institute, 12/17/19]
Trump’s Trade Policies Cost Around 75,000 Manufacturing Jobs. According to the Gander, “As PBS Newshour explains, tariffs have downstream effects on Michigan businesses like manufacturing and the auto industry. The increased cost of the steel and aluminum being imported is carried primarily by the manufacturer purchasing the materials. PBS reported that the more industries used steel, the more likely they were to lay off employees as a result of the sharp rise in materials prices caused by the tariffs. So while the trade policies might have created around 1,000 steel jobs, they’ve cost around 75,000 manufacturing jobs.” [Gander, 6/10/20]
The Increased Tariff Duties Are Not Paid By China Or Chinese Companies, But By U.S. Importers. According to FactCheck.org, “But those increased tariff duties aren’t paid by China, or even by Chinese companies. Import duties are paid by U.S. importers, either directly or more commonly through customs brokers. The government’s ‘Guide for Commercial Importers’ advises those who use brokers to make out a separate check ‘payable to ‘U.S. Customs and Border Protection’ for those customs charges, which the broker will then deliver to CBP.’ And importers — including big retailers like Walmart and Target — face pressure to pass on those increased costs to consumers in the form of higher prices. The National Retail Federation calls Trump’s tariffs ‘a tax on American families.’” [FactCheck.org, 2/28/19]
Washington Post Reported That American Consumers Spent Nearly $1 Million For Every Job Trump’s Trade Policies Created. According to the Gander, “This has a large number of unintended consequences, however. The Washington Post reports that American consumers have spent nearly $1 million for every job Trump trade policies have created.” [The Gander, 6/10/20]
Trump’s Earliest Attempt To Circumvent Unions Resulted In Trump Paying A $1.375 Million Settlement After 15 Years Of Litigation. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Trump’s early interactions with labor unions were based on less complex concerns. As a young real-estate developer in 1980, Mr. Trump hired a nonunion crew of 200 undocumented Polish workers to demolish the Bonwit Teller department store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, clearing the way for what would become Trump Tower, his signature building and the first new construction he pursued on his own. The men were paid as little as $4 an hour, less than half the union wage, and worked 12-hour shifts without safety gear. Though he saved money in the short term, the long-term costs were significant. The treatment of those workers led to 15 years of litigation. Mr. Trump paid $1.375 million to settle the case, including a $500,000 payment to a union benefits fund. The terms of the settlement remained sealed until Mr. Trump became president and a judge released them over his objections.” [New York Times, 9/27/23]
Trump Would Pass Information From Casino Owners To Local Union Leaders To Avoid A Strike In Atlantic City. According to the New York Times, “When Mr. Trump ran casinos in Atlantic City, the owners negotiated as an association with the local hotel and casino workers union. John R. O’Donnell, who managed the Trump Plaza casino for several years starting in the late 1980s, said Mr. Trump was so terrified by the threat of lost business during a strike that he would mine his fellow association members and their lawyers for details on the owners’ strategy and then surreptitiously pass that information along to local union leaders. He said Mr. Trump’s typical efforts to reduce costs ‘did not apply when it came to the union,’ because he was adamant that a strike ‘cannot happen.’ ‘He worked against the association to help the unions, to the detriment of the rest of the city,’ Mr. O’Donnell said. ‘He was going to sign a contract regardless.’” [New York Times, 9/27/23]
Unionization Efforts Were Opposed At Trump’s Las Vegas Hotel. According to the New York Times, “Not all employees at Mr. Trump’s hotels and golf courses are unionized. Workers at the hotel that Mr. Trump co-owns in Las Vegas with the casino mogul Phillip Ruffin began a unionization drive in 2014. The owners pushed back against the effort, but ultimately signed a contract with the union the month after the 2016 election. In 2018, workers at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., told a reporter for The New York Times that many employees there were undocumented immigrants; one worker said a manager had directed her to someone to help her obtain fraudulent records.” [New York Times, 9/27/23]
Trump On Working With Unions: “If I Had My Choice, I Think I’d Take It Without.” According to the New York Times, “Does he support unions? He has had ‘great success’ in New York building with unions and also in Florida without unions. ‘If I had my choice,’ he said, ‘I think I’d take it without.’” [New York Times, 11/19/15]
VIDEO: Trump Bragged About How He “Fought The Unions” To Build The Trump World Tower. According to remarks by Trump in an interview via YouTube, “INTERVIEWER: I know you’ve never been accused of false modesty. Is self-promotion for you a personal sport, or is it a business strategy that others can learn from? TRUMP: Well I don’t consider myself a good promoter. I really consider myself a great builder. I think I build the best product and then all of a sudden you see this building going up and you see it selling it out and everyone says, ‘oh Trump did such a great promotion.’ The fact is, that if you take like the Trump World Tower opposite the United Nations that was recently completed, it’s a great building. It’s the tallest residential building in the world. I built it. I fought on it. I fought the unions. I fought the world. I fought financials. I fought everything.” [YouTube – Trump Remarks, Accessed 9/26/23]
2015: About 500 Workers At Trump International Hotel In Las Vegas Rallied Against Trump For The Right To Unionize With Culinary Workers Union Local 226. According to the Nation, “Their boss is famous for firing people with merciless gusto. So you can imagine it took just as much chutzpah for the workers at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas to rally today and demand the right to unionize and to gain respect on the job. While the Donald seeks election to a new post, roughly 500 workers at the hotel are focusing on a very different vote: They’ve been pushing to form a union for months, and are trying to snatch a bit of Trump’s campaign spotlight this summer to call on him ‘Make America Great Again’ right on his home turf. As a recent ad for the unionization campaign proclaims: ‘We think that working for Mr. Trump in Las Vegas is a chance to make our lives better…but only if he pays us the same wages and benefits as everyone else working on the Strip.’ Of course, what do they expect from the man who’s built a brand for himself as a ferocious corporate overlord? His attitude on the campaign trail is as ruthless as his management style, laced with racial invective and almost self-caricaturing jingoism. (Not to mention hypocrisy—just ask the many low-wage immigrant laborers he has exploited over the years). But amid the buffoonery, the local hospitality union, Culinary Workers Union Local 226, is pressing serious charges of labor violations and denouncing his operations as a bastion of union busting in an otherwise union town.” [Nation, 8/21/15]
The Nation: “About 86 Percent Of Workers In The Planned Bargaining Unit Have Signed ‘Union Yes’ Cards.” According to the Nation,“About 86 percent of workers in the planned bargaining unit have signed ‘Union Yes’ cards. UNITE HERE is seeking neutrality from the employer and a straight card-check majority vote for unionization, rather than plodding through the NLRB ballot process.” [Nation, 8/21/15]
The Nation: “According To The Union, The Management Has Run A Stealth Campaign To Persuade Hotel Staff That Organizing Is Not In Their Best Interest.” According to the Nation,“Nonetheless, according to the union, the management has run a stealth campaign to persuade hotel staff that organizing is not in their best interest.” [Nation, 8/21/15]
The Nation: “Workers Charged The Managers With Blocking Organizers From Distributing Pro-Union Literature In The Workers’ Dining Room, While Stealthily Allowing Anti-Union Activists To Campaign During Work Hours.” According to the Nation,“The workers charged the managers with blocking organizers from distributing pro-union literature in the workers’ dining room, while stealthily allowing anti-union activists to campaign during work hours.” [Nation, 8/21/15]
The Nation: “According To NLRB Charges Filed By The Union, Five Hotel Workers Were ‘Unfairly Suspended For Exercising Their Legal Right To Wear A Union Button And Organize Their Coworkers’ Last Year.’” According to the Nation,“According to NLRB charges filed by the union, five hotel workers were ‘unfairly suspended for exercising their legal right to wear a union button and organize their coworkers’ last year (they were eventually reinstated with back pay, along with an agreement to post workers rights publicly and not interfere with future organizing).” [Nation, 8/21/15]
The Nation: “The Union Filed New Charges Alleging The Management ‘Violated The Federally Protected Rights Of Workers To Participate In Union Activities’ Including ‘Incidents Of Alleged Physical Assault, Verbal Abuse, Intimidation, And Threats By Management.’” According to the Nation,“Last June, the union filed new charges alleging the management ‘violated the federally protected rights of workers to participate in union activities’ including ‘incidents of alleged physical assault, verbal abuse, intimidation, and threats by management.’” [Nation, 8/21/15]
December 2016: Trump’s Hotel Company And The Unions Reached An Agreement For New Benefits For Workers At His Las Vegas Hotel. According to the Washington Post, “Donald Trump’s hotel company and two of the country’s leading labor unions reached agreement Wednesday on deals that will offer new benefits to hundreds of workers at his Las Vegas hotel and pave the way for workers at his D.C. hotel to unionize. The Vegas agreement resolves a high-profile battle at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, where Trump, as co-owner, refused to recognize a vote to organize last year by housekeepers, maids, porters, cooks and other members of the UNITE HERE Culinary Workers Union and the Bartenders Union.” [Washington Post, 12/21/16]
1991: Sports Arena and Casino Employees Union Local 137 Filed Charges With The NLRB Against Trump Castle Casino. According to the Press of Atlantic City, “A union trying to organize casino workers filed unfair labor practice charges against Trump Castle Casino Resort here Thursday. Henry Desch, vice president of Local 137 of the Sports Arena and Casino Employees Union, said the charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board stemmed from efforts by the Castle to restrict the union’s contact with workers there.” [Press Of Atlantic City, 7/12/91]
Local 137 Alleged That Trump Castle Casino Prevented The Distribution Of Union Information To Employees During Free Time. According to the Press of Atlantic City, “A union trying to organize casino workers filed unfair labor practice charges against Trump Castle Casino Resort here Thursday. Henry Desch, vice president of Local 137 of the Sports Arena and Casino Employees Union, said the charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board stemmed from efforts by the Castle to restrict the union’s contact with workers there. ‘The charges state that Trump Castle has prevented the distribution of information and literature to its employees during their free time and while they are going to and from work,’ the union said in a statement issued late Thursday.” [Press Of Atlantic City, 7/12/91]
Trump Castle Allegedly Ordered Union Workers Off Casino Property While They Tried To Distribute Literature And Talk With Employees Near The Casino’s Employee Entrance. According to the Press of Atlantic City, “While the union’s press release did not spell out the specifics behind the complaint, union workers reportedly were ordered off of Trump Castle property as they were trying to distribute literature and talk with employees near the gaming hall’s employee entrance.” [Press Of Atlantic City, 7/12/91]
Trump Castle President On Unionization Efforts: “We Are Going To Do Everything We Can To Keep Third-Party Outsiders Out Of Here.” According to the Press of Atlantic City, “Castle President Roger Wagner said the casino ‘can defend itself against any charges that have been brought against us.’ He insisted that officials have not and will not violate the law but will aggressively fight the union’s organizing efforts. ‘I don’t believe that the employees need a third-party outsider to talk for them,’ he said. ‘And we are going to do everything we can to keep third-party outsiders out of here.’” [Press Of Atlantic City, 7/12/91]
1991: The NLRB Charged Trump Castle With Unfairly Preventing Union Organizers From Contacting Employees After The Trump Castle Ordered Union Organizers Away From Employee Parking Lot And The Entrance. According to the Press of Atlantic City, “The National Labor Relations Board has charged Trump Castle Casino Resort with unfairly preventing union organizers from contacting employees there. Local 137 of the Sports Arena Employees Union filed a complaint against the casino in July after three incidents in which union organizers were ordered away from the employee parking lot and from the employee entrance to the casino hotel.” [Press Of Atlantic City, 8/24/91]
NLRB: Trump Castle “Interfered With, Restrained And Coerced ... Employees In The Exercise Of Rights’ Guaranteed By Federal Labor Laws.” According to the Press of Atlantic City, “Local 137 of the Sports Arena Employees Union filed a complaint against the casino [Trump Castle] in July after three incidents in which union organizers were ordered away from the employee parking lot and from the employee entrance to the casino hotel. After reviewing the complaint, the NLRB charged the casino had ‘interfered with, restrained and coerced ... employees in the exercise of rights’ guaranteed by federal labor laws.” [Press Of Atlantic City, 8/24/91]
1980: Trump Hired Kaszycki and Sons Contractors Inc. To Raze The Bonwit Teller Building For $775,000. According to The New York Times, “The demolition project on Fifth Avenue and 56th Street lasted from January to June 1980. It cleared the way for an ornate 68-story glass-sheathed structure containing shops and an atrium on the lower floors and 263 condominium apartments above that originally sold for $500,000 to $10 million each. (...) According to court records and testimony, the Trump-Equitable joint venture [for Trump Tower] hired Kaszycki and Sons Contractors Inc. at a fee of $775,000 to raze Bonwit Teller’s 10-story flagship department store although the contractor had little demolition experience.” [New York Times, 6/14/98]
Kaszycki Used Hundreds Of Undocumented Polish Laborers. According to Never Enough: Donald Trump And The Pursuit Of Success, “Kaszycki had based his rock-bottom bid for the job on the revenue he could generate from scrap sales and his planned use of hundreds of undocumented Polish laborers who would be overseen by roughly two dozen skilled men from the House Wreckers Union Local 95. (The union local was controlled by organized-crime boss Vincent ‘Chin’ Gigante. In 1984, two Local 95 officers would be convicted of racketeering and extortion.) The Polish Brigade, as the men were called, began dismantling the Bonwit Building even before Kaszycki received a demolition permit. Laboring without the usual precautions such as hard hats, they ripped out walls and flooring until all that was left was steel, concrete, and stone.” [Michael D’Antonio: Never Enough: Donald Trump And The Pursuit Of Success, September 2015]
The Trump Tower Crew Had 200 Undocumented Workers. According to the New York Times, “Donald J. Trump took the witness stand yesterday to deny seven-year-old charges that he knowingly used 200 undocumented workers to demolish the old Bonwit Teller building to make way for Trump Tower, the glittering centerpiece of his real-estate empire. Testifying in a case that has survived years of legal challenges, Mr. Trump said he did not know the workers were undocumented and that the demolition in the summer of 1980 was delegated to a contractor, Kaszycki & Sons Contractors, which did all the hiring.” [New York Times, 7/13/90]
Workers’ Pay Fell Far Below The Union Rate And Complaints Were Answered With Threats Of Deportation. According to Never Enough: Donald Trump And The Pursuit Of Success, “The men of the brigade labored seven days per week, and as many as eighteen hours a day, to meet the boss’s schedule. When not working, they rested in overcrowded housing supplied by Kaszycki, or on the floors of the Bonwit building itself. Their pay, which fell far below the union rate, was issued sporadically. Sometimes they were offered vodka instead of money. Complaints were answered with threats of deportation. When the city was hit by a transit strike, many of the men walked everyday from Brooklyn to Midtown Manhattan just to get to their jobs. Those who quit were replaced immediately by one of the dozens of Polish men who appeared at the job site every day looking for work.” [Michael D’Antonio: Never Enough: Donald Trump And The Pursuit Of Success, September 2015]
The Workers Worked 12-Hour Shifts Without Gloves, Hard Hats, Or Masks. According to the New York Times, “In 1980, under pressure to begin construction on what would become his signature project, Donald J. Trump employed a crew of 200 undocumented Polish workers who worked in 12-hour shifts, without gloves, hard hats or masks, to demolish the Bonwit Teller building on Fifth Avenue, where the 58-story, golden-hued Trump Tower now stands.” [New York Times, 11/27/17]
Lawyers For Local 95 Asserted That Kaszycki Paid The Laborers $4 To $5 An Hour On 12-Hour Shifts Seven Days A Week. According to the New York Times, “Wendy E. Sloan and Lewis M. Steel, lawyers for current and retired Local 95 members in the suit, assert that William Kaszycki, owner of the contracting company, hired about 200 Polish immigrants who were not Local 95 members and agreed to pay them $4 to $5 an hour on 12-hour shifts seven days a week.” [New York Times, 6/14/98]
Members Of Housewreckers Local 95 Alleged That The Undocumented Workers Worked Around The Clock And Slept At The Work Site. According to the New York Times, “Testifying in a case that has survived years of legal challenges, Mr. Trump said he did not know the workers were undocumented and that the demolition in the summer of 1980 was delegated to a contractor, Kaszycki & Sons Contractors, which did all the hiring. The lawsuit, by some members of Housewreckers Local 95, charges that Mr. Trump, desperate to meet deadlines on a vast project whose intricate financing was partly dependent upon them, overlooked the use of undocumented Polish immigrants, who allegedly worked round-the-clock and even slept at the site.” [New York Times, 7/13/90]
A Foreman Testified That Trump Had Visited The Site And Remarked To The Foreman That “Those Polish Guys Are Good, Hard Workers.” According to the New York Times, “Mr. Trump would later testify that he never walked into the adjoining building or noticed the Polish workers. But a foreman on the job, Zbignew Goryn, testified that Mr. Trump visited the site, marveling to him about the Polish crew. ‘He liked the way the men were working on 57th Street,’ Mr. Goryn said. ‘He said, ‘Those Polish guys are good, hard workers.’” [New York Times, 11/27/17]
1998: Trump Settled Class Action Litigation Over The Demolition Of The Bonwit Teller Building. According to the New York Times, “In 1980, under pressure to begin construction on what would become his signature project, Donald J. Trump employed a crew of 200 undocumented Polish workers who worked in 12-hour shifts, without gloves, hard hats or masks, to demolish the Bonwit Teller building on Fifth Avenue, where the 58-story, golden-hued Trump Tower now stands. The workers were paid as little as $4 an hour for their dangerous labor, less than half the union wage, if they got paid at all. Their treatment led to years of litigation over Mr. Trump’s labor practices, and in 1998, despite frequent claims that he never settles lawsuits, Mr. Trump quietly reached an agreement to end a class-action suit over the Bonwit Teller demolition in which he was a defendant.” [New York Times, 11/27/17]
Trump Paid $1.375 Million To Settle The Case. According to the New York Times, “The documents show that Mr. Trump paid a total of $1.375 million to settle the case, known as Hardy v. Kaszycki, with $500,000 of it going to a union benefits fund and the rest to pay lawyers’ fees and expenses. According to the documents, one of the union lawyers involved asked the judge to ensure ‘prompt payment’ from Mr. Trump, suggesting ‘within two weeks after the settlement date.’” [New York Times, 11/27/17]