In 2016, Donald Trump got around 37% of the vote from members of labor unions. He actually out-performed Mitt Romney in this regard suggesting that his faux pro-worker rhetoric hit its mark. Since then, he’s continued his attempts to appease union workers and convince them — despite a preponderance of evidence to the contrary — that he is on THEIR side and laughably not on the side of the corporations who work tirelessly to keep them as powerless and underpaid as possible.
Trump held one such event this week called “The Pledge to America’s Workers”. Below is a list who attended. Take a very close look at the list. Notice anything missing?
Yup: Workers.
Instead, Trump lined up some of the most anti-labor elected officials he could find — like notorious union-buster Wisconsin governor Scott Walker — and filled the room with representatives from the “trade groups” (another word for lobbyists) for a multitude of corporate interests. He even managed to get his daughter Ivanka to come, a woman whose fashion line is made by overseas workers.
Here are the attendees:
The White House
President Donald J. Trump
Ivanka Trump, Advisor to the President
Chris Liddell, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Coordination
Andrew Bremberg, Director of the Domestic Policy Council
The Cabinet
Secretary Alex Acosta, Department of Labor
Secretary Wilbur Ross, Department of Commerce
Secretary Betsy DeVos, Department of Education
Administrator Linda McMahon, Small Business Administration
Acting Secretary Peter O’Rourke, Department of Veterans Affairs
Director Mick Mulvaney, Office of Management and Budget
Members of Congress
Sen. Todd Young, Indiana
Rep. Rick Allen, Georgia
Rep. Adrian Smith, Nebraska
Rep. Claudia Tenney, New York
Rep. Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
Rep. Jim Renacci, Ohio
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, Washington
Rep. Sean Duffy, Wisconsin
State and Local Officials
Gov. Scott Walker, Wisconsin
State Auditor Matt Rosendale, Montana
Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett, Michigan
Companies and Organizations Signing Pledge Today
Aerospace Industry Association
American Hotel & Lodging Association
American Trucking Associations
Associated Builders and Contractors
Associated General Contractors of America
FedEx
Foxconn
General Motors
The Home Depot
IBM
Internet Association
Lockheed Martin
Microsoft
National Association of Homebuilders
National Restaurant Association
National Retail Federation
Northrop Grumman
North America’s Building Trades Unions
Raytheon
Society for Human Resource Management
Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance
United Parcel Service
Walmart
This was the White House’s description of the event:
Today, in front of a large audience of American workers, companies, and Administration officials, President Trump will sign an Executive Order that establishes a National Council for the American Worker, an Interagency Council of Administration officials who will focus on crafting solutions to our country’s urgent workforce issues. The Council will be charged with developing a national strategy for ensuring Americans have access to affordable, relevant education and job training so that they are prepared for the jobs available today and jobs of the future.
Additionally, it will provide a platform for the private sector to sign a “Pledge to America’s Workers” and announce the creation of 500,000+ new opportunities for students and workers over the next five years including through apprenticeships and work-based learning, continuing education, and re-skilling. This initiative is following the publication of the DOL Apprenticeship Task Force’s report to the President on the need for more earn-and-learn and skills-focused job training opportunities for current and future workers. The events will reaffirm the President’s commitment to the American workforce and show that the Administration is taking concrete steps to ensure that Americans are able to fully participate in our booming economy.
You can see their “pledge” to American workers HERE. In it they pledge to “invest in the advancement of our current and future workforce by providing individuals with opportunities to develop skills” and to invest in “opportunities for education and training that will help more Americans thrive in the modern workplace … including through increased apprenticeships and work-based learning programs, continuing education, on-the-job training, and re-skilling.”
Nothing about improved wages. Nothing about decent benefits. Nothing about a good retirement package. Nothing about better working conditions. For these guys, it’s all about creating more efficient workers to enhance their bottom line and increase their profits. And they expect workers to be thankful for the privilege.
If you are a union member, it is critical that you understand that the Trump administration and Republicans in general are NOT on YOUR side. They are on the side of the corporations like Walmart and Lockheed Martin and the other attendees. Your vote for Trump and Republicans is a vote to cut your own throat when it comes to a job that provides you with a fair wage, good working conditions, good benefits, and the ability to retire with dignity. The corporatists who profit from your hard work are not about to cede any power or control to lowly workers like you.
And you should be sharing that truth with your Trump-supporting union brothers and sisters.
[Photo by Gage Skidmore | Flickr]
