“The first 100 days of this billionaire-run administration have been fueled by lies, broken promises, and a relentless assault on working people and unions,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders, on the 100th day of the second Trump administration.
During the campaign, President Donald Trump promised to put working people first. He promised to lower rising costs on groceries and gas and preserve our earned benefits and health care.
But the administration is doing the exact opposite and harming workers.is doing the exact opposite and harming workers.
Chief among those are:
- Stripping the collective bargaining and union rights of more than 1 million federal workers.
- Trying to dismantle Social Security by cutting services, closing offices, firing its employees and more — all so the administration can claim it’s broken and justify further cuts.
- Allowing Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to lead chaotic mass firings of public service workers and gut agencies that Americans rely on.
- Attacking Medicaid, which will leave millions of working Americans without health care, blow massive holes in state budgets and cause hospitals to shutter.
- Gutting the Department of Education by firing half its staff, with plans to shut down the entire agency. This will hurt millions of students and will end of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which many AFSCME members rely on.
That doesn’t include having handed over the reins of government to billionaires — appointing the wealthiest cabinet in American history. The administration has also kicked off a trade war that is raising prices on everyday goods and cutting wages for workers.
On top of that, the administration has already implemented more than one-third of Project 2025’s anti-worker agenda.
“The fallout has been immediate,” warned Saunders. “Retirees are left wondering how to navigate Social Security as staff are laid off, offices are closed, and services are cut. People are watching their retirement savings shrink. Lifesaving health and safety regulations have been put on hold. Students with disabilities are losing vital support from the Department of Education. The Department of Health and Human Services is clawing back funding from states, cities and towns to fight infectious diseases as measles is on the rise.”
This is only the beginning, Saunders said.
"This administration refuses to reverse course,” said Saunders, “because its No. 1 goal is to hand out massive tax breaks to billionaires by robbing our communities of public services and workers of our power. Make no mistake — this will devastate our economy.”
However, workers across the country are organizing with AFSCME to build real people power. Tens of thousands of public service workers have joined AFSCME since the start of the year. They are getting organized — hosting town halls, mobilizing their co-workers, and flooding Congress with thousands of letters, calls and petitions demanding action to rein in this hostile takeover.
And in the courts, AFSCME is fighting to:
- Stop the mass firings of federal employees
- Safeguard Americans’ Social Security data
- Block the unlawful shutdown of federal agencies
- Challenge cuts of federal grants to state and local governments that fund essential public services
- Contest the elimination of collective bargaining rights, and more.
“No matter how this administration attempts to reframe and erase history, we will never forget: It is working people who are the backbone of this nation,” said Saunders. “We built the middle-class. We built this country, and we will fight to protect our freedom to thrive.”