Trump & Labor

The Marblehead Democrats Newsletter

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Special issue on Trump & Labor

Notes From Renee

We are a little past the calendar date for celebrating Labor Day; nevertheless we are focusing this newsletter on Labor, because as the general election nears and narrows, it’s important that we better understand the dynamics of one of the key factors in this campaign. Why is it that 64% of white working-class voters went with Trump last time and so many still remain with him despite all the evidence that he betrayed them (See the litany of betrayal below in "Take Note then Vote.")

Trump rewarded their support by passing economic and tax policies that further empowered the wealthy and disempowered these essential workers. The stock market is not the real economy for half the country. We now have millions out of work, and a living wage can still mean working two or more jobs. Affordable housing and education continue to be out of reach for millions. Clearly, something more powerful is at play here that would cause you to vote against your own self-interests.

Tom Friedman gives an insightful explanation in his NY Times column, “The Politics of Humiliation.” He makes the point that Trump’s core supporters ”hate the people who hate Trump, more than they care about Trump or any particular action he takes, no matter how awful. People will absorb hardship, hunger and pain. They will be grateful for jobs, cars and benefits. But if you make people feel humiliated, they will respond with a ferocity unlike any other emotion, or just refuse to lift a finger for you.”

What has caused this sense of humiliation or loss of dignity in so many workers? Friedman posits that it is one unintended consequence of the value that has been placed on a college education and this path to higher income, status and “success.”

Philosopher Michael Sandel in The Tyranny of Merit writes, “It congratulates the winners but denigrates the losers, because it creates the impression that a college degree is a precondition for dignified work and social esteem” — while devaluing the contributions of those without a diploma. This has led many working people to feel that elites look down on them, creating the conditions for the “politics of humiliation” that Trump exploits.

This shift in what kind of work is valued by our society coincides with huge changes in the labor market and policy, which has resulted in lower wages, lost benefits, retirement, union membership and labor protections for those without degrees. Where is the dignity in work, when no matter how hard you work or what you produce, you are treated by your employer, not as a valuable asset to be invested in, but as overhead to be squeezed for shareholders and the bottom line?

This loss of dignity and humiliation is one outcome of what Dr. David Weil refers to in his book, "The Fissured Workplace: Why Work Became So Bad for So Many and What Can Be Done to Improve It." If you would like to learn more about what has been going on under the radar of many -- and what “Build Back Better” could mean for our workforce, RSVP here to join us for our next virtual MDTC meeting, September 29, at 7 PM . Dr. Weil will be our guest speaker.

Dean and Professor of the Brandeis Heller School for Social Policy, Dr. David Weil is an internationally recognized expert in employment, labor markets and labor policy. He led a federal agency at the Department of Labor during the Obama Administration and serves on a special labor advisory board to MA Attorney General, Maura Healey. He will have substantive ideas about what "Build Back Better" could mean for workers.

Dr. Weil Bio and scholarship link: https://www.brandeis.edu/facultyguide/person.html?

Renee Ramirez Keaney

MDTC Chair

Trump & Labor

TAKE NOTE THEN VOTE

The Trump Administration has:

Appointed as Secretary of Labor, Eugene Scalia, an attorney with a history of opposing rights for disabled workers, defending corporations against financial oversight and labor regulation, and contesting measures to increase worker safety.

Worker Protections Lost

Safety

Rolled back the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule that prevented awarding taxpayer dollars to contractors who violate basic labor and employment laws.

Encouraged employers to report workers who refuse to return to their jobs because they fear contracting COVID-19.

Removed an OSHA policy that permitted workers to participate in OSHA inspections.

Targeted job safety rules for toxic chemicals, mine examinations, and child labor protections for destruction.

Undermined the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which has added to a record low in the number of workplace safety inspectors.

Rolled back a rule that required employers to keep accurate records of workplace injuries and illnesses.

Delayed a rule requiring employers to submit injury and illness records electronically to OSHA.

Delayed a rule protecting workers from exposure to harmful silica dust.

Rolled back protections for workers exposed to beryllium which can lead to severe lung disease, including cancer.

Proposed to weaken protections for farmworkers from harmful effects of pesticide exposure.

Wages

Eliminated overtime pay for 8.2 million workers and scuttled an Obama era plan to extend overtime protection to more workers.

Denied workers their rights by weakening the National Labor Relations Board's ability to hold employers accountable for misclassifying “independent contractors.”

Enacted a 'Joint Employer Final Rule’ that exposes more workers to wage theft.

Proposed to roll back an SEC rule that requires disclosure of CEO-to-employee pay ratios.

Proposed making it legal for employers to take workers’ hard-earned tips.

Put on hold the EEO-1 pay data rule from the Obama era that intended to identify and fix pay disparities in America’s workplaces.

Created a program that lets employers report their own violations of federal wage laws and thus avoid penalties by finally paying workers the money they’re owed.

Passed a tax reform bill that motivated companies to send jobs overseas. According to the AFL-CIO in Trump’s first year in office 93,000 jobs were outsourced.

Retirement

Delayed a rule that protects retirement savers by requiring financial advisers to provide advice untainted by conflicts of interest.

Rolled back rules that made it easier for workers to save for retirement.

Right to Organize & Unionize

Permitted employers to fire workers in retaliation for union activity.

Undermined collective bargaining and the right to strike.

Rolled back rules to modify and streamline union elections that enable workers to bargain together for better wages and working conditions.

Enabled employers to more easily stop workers from forming a union by changing the standard for an “appropriate” bargaining unit.

Issued executive orders to curb federal unions' ability to represent their members—including evicting unions from their government offices.

Supported the “Janus Decision” which imposed a “right-to-work” regime on public sector unions. Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh were the deciding votes.

Sought to weaken the National Labor Relations Act which empowers private-sector workers to organize, form unions, and engage in concerted action.

Rolled back a transparency rule that ensured workers would know about employers' use of anti-union consultants during a union election.

"Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor."

John F. Kennedy