Donald Trump flames out
In the afternoon before Election Day, Joe Biden rallied union workers in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, promising to “be the most pro-union president you’ve ever seen.” Echoing Biden’s words, Kamala Harris assured voters in Luzerne County that if she and Biden win, “we will probably have the most pro-labor administration we’ve seen in a long time.”
The next day, Pennsylvania joined the nation in securing a victory for the Biden-Harris ticket, and their new administration has wasted no time making good on their promise to protect workers and improve quality of life. This week, President Biden took swift, bold action that not only levels the playing field for union negotiations but helps remove Donald Trump’s toxic post-presidential grip on our new government.
Biden demanded the resignations of all Trump appointees to the Federal Service Impasses Panel, which referees disputes between executive agencies and federal unions. All ten appointees were anti-labor activists who ignored their role as a neutral arbiter only to side consistently with management, even imposing stricter terms on unions than they requested. When only eight of the appointees resigned, Biden promptly fired the remaining two, according to a report from Bloomberg Law.
On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump also promised to be a champion for American workers, yet he spent four years proving himself to be labor’s archvillain. Now that he is out of office, Trump finally managed to make a pro-union move, though it was inspired only by his trademark pettiness and spite, in stark contrast to Biden’s empathy and fair-mindedness.
On Thursday, Trump abruptly resigned from SAG-AFTRA, the actor’s union, writing “Who cares!” and “You have done nothing for me” in an angry letter. SAG-AFTRA already found probable cause to seek expulsion of Trump for inciting the attack on the U.S. Capitol as well as “sustaining a reckless campaign of misinformation aimed at discrediting and ultimately threatening the safety of journalists, many of whom are SAG-AFTRA members,” according to a statement.
So, on top of the U.S. Constitution, it turns out Trump’s actions also violated SAG-AFTRA’s Constitution. Even in his resignation letter, Trump continued violating that Constitution by mocking “MSDNC” and slamming “Fake News CNN.” Trump resigned only because he thought it would look better than waiting to be found guilty in a Disciplinary Committee hearing. Yet, his action sped up justice and cleansed the union of its most dangerous member, prompting SAG-AFTRA to release a formal statement saying nothing other than “Thank you.”
America now has a President who does the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Unlike the last guy who said what voters wanted to hear so that he could narrowly win swing states, Joe Biden is proving himself on this issue and others to be a President who keeps his promises. As then-Senator Barack Obama said back in 2006, “If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists—to protect them and to promote their common welfare—all else is lost.”
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month