US labor unions gear up to fight against Trump’s ‘Billionaire First’ agenda | US unions
Donald Trump has waged “relentless attacks on workers” for a year, according to the head of the largest labor union federation in the United States. Now they are preparing to fight back.
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said they are preparing to challenge the US president’s “Billionaire First” agenda in 2026 and encourage candidates in key elections to stand up for “struggling” Americans.
In an interview with the Guardian, he described how the federation was pushing to restore collective bargaining rights for federal workers and filed Lawsuits filed against the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken unions and worker protections. “People were angry,” Shuler said.
House of Representatives passed A Dec. 11 bill that would restore collective bargaining rights to federal workers, in response to Trump’s executive orders stripping rights of more than 1 million federal government workers.
“This was done through a lot of old-fashioned organizing,” said Shuler, who accused the president of leading “the largest attack on unions in our history” by moving to eliminate collective bargaining for federal workers.
The AFL-CIO is now preparing to fight to pass the bill in the Senate in January, kicking off what is likely to be another hectic year. There is a danger of a new government shutdown at the end of January. The fight to expand Affordable Care Act subsidies is far from over.
“As we speak, we organize,” Shuler said. “We can move real people in workplaces, in every city, in every state, across the country.”
Affordability has come to the fore with inflation still stubbornly above typical levels and many Americans grappling with rising bills and prices. Labor organizations are already reaching out to working people, campaigning and knocking on doors to break through the noise, Shuler said, and the federation plans to build momentum with such kitchen table issues in the 2026 midterm elections.
“People are fed up,” he said. “They’re saturated. I think they don’t trust institutions and they don’t trust the media. All the people we’ve trusted over the years seem to be losing trust, and there’s only one organization left that people trust, and that’s the labor movement, the unions. Our credibility and trust is actually increasing. So we think we need to take advantage of our sweet spot of using our sphere of influence.”
About 68% of Americans support labor unions. According to GallupAlthough union density has tended to decline over the past few decades in the United States linked to growing income inequality.
Shuler noted that Trump promised from day one to cut costs and create good jobs, especially in manufacturing. These promises have not yet been fulfilled. Trump called concern about affordability a “hoax” and sought to downplay economic concerns such as a slump in the job market.
“That’s not what people are experiencing,” Shuler said of Trump’s narrative. “They have to pay off their credit card debt. all time highjust to buy food. They are looking at how they will pay for the car and cover the rent.
“When I talk to people on the road, I think housing and healthcare are two issues that everyone feels like. And that’s not on the ‘Billionaire First’ agenda.”
He added that Trump is “rewarding big corporations and the rich” while many Americans are “really struggling.” “I think this will become clearer as we enter 2026. The labor movement will also be very clear on this issue. What are the demands of the workers? Who is on our side when it comes to candidates and elected officials? So which side are you on?”
Thousands of Starbucks baristas are currently on strike as they campaign for the world’s largest coffee chain to give them their first union contract.
“This strike really brought into sharp focus this division that we see of an economy that is brought together by the very rich, billionaires, corporations and workers,” Shuler said. “They often work two or three jobs to make ends meet.
“The future of this economy is certainly at stake when you consider how widespread inequality is, but artificial intelligence and advanced technology will also continue to drive the gap between the ultra-rich and ordinary people just trying to get by.
“If we don’t put guardrails in place, if we don’t have more power for working people to negotiate what they need, and if we don’t get some balance back into our economy, it’s going to get worse.”
The White House has been contacted for comment.
