A Labor Day look at Trump’s policies for American workers : NPR
Good morning. You read a special edition of the Labor Day of the UP First Newsletter. Get down Here to have the newsletter delivered in your reception box, and listen At the first podcast for all the news you need to start your day.
Recording with the workers’ movement
by Andrea HSUNPR work and work correspondent
At that time last year, President Trump courted the American workers, promising them a rebirth if they helped send him to the White House. Now seven months after his second term, he says he is on the right track to hold this promise.
“Each Trump administration policy is designed to raise the American worker, promote blue -collar jobs and rebuild the industrial foundation of our nation,” Trump said at a meeting last week.
Many labor leaders could not disagree.
The demonstrators meet on the National Mall for the country “Hands Off!” Protest against President Donald Trump and his advisor, the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, in Washington, DC, April 5, 2025.
Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images
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Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images
“For each measure, this was the most hostile administration to workers in our life,” said the president of AFL-CIO, Liz Shuler, in an interview before the Labor Day. “Workers really do not feel safe in this economy.”
If you just look at the figures, workers seem to be quite decent. In July, average wages increased by 3.9% in the past year, exceeding inflation. Unemployment remains low, at just over 4%. Most people in America want a job work.
But behind these figures, there is a lot of uncertainty and tension.
On the campaign track, Trump often warned American workers that immigrants were taking their jobs. The Trump administration is now not only repressed of people who are illegally in the United States, but it has also ended programs that have provided hundreds of thousands of people relieved dangerous conditions in their country of origin. People who were previously authorized to stay and work in the United States, sometimes for decades, suddenly revoked their legal status.
These new immigration policies affect workers and employers, forcing people to get out of jobs on farms in rural America, Midwest factories and in The houses of the elderly who need help – places that have long welcomed immigrants. In long -term agriculture and health care, Americans are not exactly queue for jobs. Workers who are left behind after the colleagues of immigrants leave say that they are now Work longer Or have to train inexperienced newcomers.
Unions representing the blue passes, including those who consider Trump to consider his base, have additional concerns. They fear that major infrastructure projects are launched when Joe Biden was deprived of federal funds or even stopped together.
“It is chaos, it is uncertainty, it is unpredictability,” explained Brent Booker to me, president of the International Union of North American workers.
Booker is particularly energy at the moment The order of judgment of the Trump administration on the wind of the RevolutionA wind farm under construction off the Côtes du Rhode Island. The administration interrupted the project last month, citing national security problems. Booker stresses that the project was authorized a long time ago, and 80%. But now, several hundred workers who were above the water, working to put it into service, have been slowed down.
Booker is concerned about what this indicates to the entire renewable energy industry – and in addition, what it means for American workers who were on these jobs. “It works against all that [Trump] Promised to our members and the American people, “he said.
There is another subject that I spent a lot of time covering since January: the upheaval of the federal workforce. The staff management office recently revealed that at the end of the year, the government will have lost around 300,000 federal employees, most of them voluntary departures.
In an interview on CNBC, the director of OPM, Scott Kupor, described this as an opportunity – a chance to change the government to reward efficiency. This is something that I heard that even Trump’s firmer criticism say they are necessary. But others warn that the mass exodus of federal employees, including Several senior CDC managers last weekEast leaving agencies poorly positioned to provide the services that Americans need. We have the next three years and more to see who is right.
The Labor Day reads and listens
When you are stuck at the airport, you need the good soundtrack.
Images Alex Wong / Getty
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Images Alex Wong / Getty
When you are stuck at the airport, you need the good soundtrack.
Images Alex Wong / Getty
If you took advantage of the holiday weekend to travel, I hope your return trip will go without a hitch. But if you are with a flight time, don’t worry – HAPPY HOUR OF POP CULTURE has Three songs to help you Through these stressful moments of travel.
Missouri workers are campaigning to reintegrate obligatory sickness leave after state legislators have repealed part of a law approved by voters. Proposal A, the measure approved by voters, had to increase the minimum wage and Allow workers to win days of illness. As it was a statutory change, legislators were able to overthrow the portion of paid sick leave, many of which citing the cost it would add to businesses. This time, voters want it to come back as a constitutional change that legislators cannot repeal. (via Kcur))
Visits to all Utah national parks have decreased this summer after a few record years. The ignition reflects a wider travel trend. International tourism has dropped due to economic uncertainty, fluctuating prices and political rhetoric, which has led some foreign travelers to reconsider plans to visit the United States Large implications for local savings which are strongly based on tourism. (via Kuer))
The moviegoers will have the chance to revisit a classic with new eyes when Jaws Returns in theaters for its 50th anniversary this year. The film takes place on Amity Island. To prepare for the event, NPR Network Station Wbur produced a three -part series called Jaw island. The podcast brings listeners to real life “Amity Island” to Martha’s vineyard and explores the heritage of the successful film. Check The three episodes here And Photos of “finishes” who have ventured on the island for the birthday.
Solar screens made in the United States have not been updated for decades, which is a reason why Korean and European solar screens are excited for their higher protection against UV radiation. But are the solar screens made by the United States really lower than the party? Chemist and scientific communicator Michelle Wong joins Short wave To discuss research on UVA and UVB shelves and provide advice on How to maximize your sun protectionWhatever sunscreen you use.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
