The Top Ten Reasons Workers Should Vote Donald Trump Out of Office
The Trump Administration has been fighting American workers since first taking office. Below are the top ten reasons for workers to vote Donald Trump out of office and vote in Joe Biden, one of the strongest pro-labor candidates for President in modern history.
10. Weakened Mine Inspections
What the Trump Administration calls ‘regulatory reform,’ Unions call jeopardizing lives. With sweeping legislation, in December 2017, the current administration took massive pride in canceling over 1,500 regulatory actions across many sectors. Actions intended to protect the public, consumers, and workers.
It was in April of 2018 when a rule was finalized which weakened the requirements of mine safety inspections. In 2017, before the new regulations were in place, 15 miners lost their lives on the job. Since the regulations were canceled, 51 miners have lost their lives while trying to make a living.
Joe Biden has made a commitment to using domestically mined materials. He understands that we need these materials produced in the United States safely, not imported from abroad. That keeps us working and keeps all of our communities safe. Joe will be sure those essential workers, our sisters and brothers who mine the materials that fuel and build our nation, go home to their families every night just as they did when he was in the White House.
9. Attacks on Worker’s Rights
Under the Trump Administration, the rights of workers have been attacked regularly. Across a variety of sectors, this administration has restricted collective bargaining, suspended all Union elections, and put oppressive limits on organizing, even outside of working hours.
During a time when workers need to band together more than ever to communicate about helping our sisters and brothers through a pandemic, this administration has been stripping workers of fundamental rights. The Trump Administration does this to try and sow division and unrest wherever they can to divide workers. They initiate lawsuits and reduce regulations that endanger the lives of working people. Unions value workers as the essential people who love, build, and fight for this country.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris understand the importance of a Union. Union Membership means higher wages, greater worker safety, and more worker retention. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have a detailed commitment to “strengthening worker organizing, collective bargaining, and unions.” They will make sure our freedom to organize freely and fairly is never restricted. This is why we must work relentlessly until we get Joe and Kamala, two of the most Pro-Labor candidates in modern history, elected as President and Vice President of the United States on November 3.
8. Denied Workers a Minimum Wage Increase
The last time the minimum wage was increased in America was in 2009. It has remained at $7.25 an hour since.
The Trump Administration had a chance in 2019 to pass the ‘Raise the Wage Act’ to increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2025. This would have helped 33 million American workers and lifted 1.3 million out of poverty. The administration rejected the five-year incremental wage increase and kept it at the static rate it has been at for over a decade.
Joe Biden knows that “basic protections like minimum wage and overtime pay allow workers to earn their fair share.” He has a plan to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour. He has worked over his career to support state and local laws increasing the minimum wage and he will continue to fight for fair wages for Americans.
7. Restricted Ability to Unionize During Nonwork Hours
The Trump administration has worked repeatedly trying to divide workers. Dismantling the ability of each worker to get our fair share, the right to collectively bargain together, and the right to inform our sisters and brothers about the benefits of union membership, even on our days off.
Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent every year by businesses on lawyers and consultants to persuade workers and spread disinformation about union organizing. The Trump Administration allows these secret tactics while taking action to prevent workers from organizing during non-work time.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris know that they will need Unions in America to ‘Build Back Better.’ They have a detailed commitment to “strengthening worker organizing, collective bargaining, and unions.” Make sure our freedom to organize is not restricted in November, there is still time to get involved in this election!
6. Covering Up Workplace Injuries
Joe Biden has said OSHA is not doing enough to protect workers. He is right
During previous administrations, OSHA has provided transparent and accurate information about workplace injuries. The Trump Administration has repealed the rules that demand businesses share this information
These include reports of accidents and known toxic exposure. Since 2017, OSHA, which is tasked to protect the health and safety of workers, has been allowing businesses to delay reporting any information of accidents, toxic conditions, and employee exposure to fatal toxins, like silica dust. It is being reported that thousands of complaints about workplace safety brought this year have not been looked into at all.
Joe Biden said that OSHA was not doing all they could “to keep their workers safe and healthy,” and he knows what they can do to protect people. He has experience with utilizing OSHA during the Obama Administration’s handling of the H1N1 virus. Joe helped keep us safe then, and he will again.
5. Workers Have Been Denied Bargaining Power
The Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, allows information on how to join a union to be freely distributed, it eliminates the ability for workers to be fired for trying to organize, and it provides protections for workers that would otherwise be on their own in an emergency. The current Presidential Administration has released a statement vowing they would veto PRO Act after the bill passed in the House of Representatives.
Unions value employees, ensuring they see pay increases and career growth over their years of work. This is why we must vote in the strongest labor candidates in recent history by electing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Joe has made this commitment to us: “I’ll sign the PRO Act – making it easier for workers to organize and collectively bargain – and be the strongest labor president workers have ever had.”
4. Decreased Workplace Safety
Amid a pandemic the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, under the Trump Administration has been widely criticized for its treatment of workers.
The current administration enacted harmful workplace safety policies before the Covid-19 Pandemic that made American workers vulnerable. They have fewer inspectors now than ever before in the history of the organization resulting in fewer inspections.
Workers saying they experience retaliation for reporting pandemic related workplace violations are dismissed without investigation 54% of the time. They ignore these issues while businesses that put workers in danger continue to operate.
Joe Biden has a four-point plan for essential workers. Establishing and maintaining better workplace health and safety standards is part of that comprehensive plan. Joe knows protecting our essential workers protects our communities. A full plan to combat this virus is what will really get all of America back to work.
3. Denying Unemployment Insurance for those at Unsafe Jobs
The Trump Administration Department of Labor allowed states to deny unemployment insurance benefits to workers that refused to return to unsafe jobs during the pandemic.
The new guidance during the pandemic from the administration is for employers to report those who refuse to return to work, even when safety complaints have been made. Those workers can then be disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance benefits.
Joe Biden wants to transform ‘unemployment insurance into Employment insurance’ by creating short term compensation plans that keep people in their jobs during a crisis. This kind of plan is in place in 27 states from the Obama Administration.
It allows for workers to convert to a reduced hour schedule and provides for federal assistance to those businesses participating in the program. Joe helped enact that program then and he is ready to implement it to help workers in all 50 states.
2. This Administration has Failed Workers and Employers During this Pandemic
The Trump Administration has failed to protect the health and safety of workers. This also negatively impacts businesses and the economy.
Before taking office , Donald Trump made clear he wanted to dismantle accessibility to healthcare options like the Affordable Healthcare Act. Now, even in the midst of a pandemic where there are over 7 million cases of coronavirus and over 200 thousand Americans dead, this administration is working to remove healthcare from millions of citizens.
In March, the CARES Act being passed. Despite the relief this provided to states the Trump administration refused to continue to provide these necessary benefits. This aid supports workers and employers.
Without that aid, the Economic Policy Institute estimates that by 2021, there will be 5.2 million fewer jobs in America. Fewer jobs in America means fewer businesses in America. That is why 77% of business leaders say they are voting for Joe Biden and 55% say the Trump administration deserves “an F” for their response to the corona virus pandemic.
Joe understands it must be a dynamic approach to re-opening the United States safely. This is why a majority polled trust Joe with their healthcare and economic stability. In a West Health-Gallup Poll, more than half of the participants said they trusted Joe Biden more with the US healthcare system. His plan to get people back to work while keeping families and communities safe during these unprecedented times includes the paid time off necessary to recover or help your loved one recover, from illness.
1. Worst Jobs Numbers Under Any President On Record
The numbers cannot lie and the United States Economy is down over 4 million jobs since Donald Trump took office. Our economy is far from ‘great’ when hundreds of thousands of Americans are still filing for unemployment for the first time.
This administration has regularly undermined job security, jeopardized the livelihoods of experienced workers, and spreads misinformation about the affects of their policies on workers. Over 22 million Americans total are receiving some kind of unemployment benefit right now. Numbers on job growth in America have been kept since World War II and this President has the worst numbers for jobs of any recorded in history and that is not a tweet, it is the truth.
During the Obama Administration, when Joe Biden was Vice President, over 8 million jobs had been added in the final three years of their term. Joe, and his Vice-Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, are committed to strengthening our economy and creating more American jobs for union workers. They have the track record to get it done. Let’s vote them into office and get this country back on track.