by Jason Bellamy-Fults, Recording Secretary, IBEW Local 1205, proud member of the North Central Florida Central Labor Council
With the Florida legislature still a mess as of the writing of this column, we’ll save a detailed analysis of this year’s session, how it will affect working people, and how our legislative delegation voted, for the July-August column. However, if you want to keep tabs in the meantime, we recommend Jason Garcia’s “Seeking Rents” substack (jasongarcia.substack.com/) as well as Florida for All (floridaforall.substack.com/) and Caring Class Revolt (caringclassrevolt.substack.com/).
For now, we’ll focus on Trump’s “historic” 100 days.
“…we’re here tonight in the heartland of our nation to celebrate the most successful first one hundred days of any administration in the history of our country, and that’s according to many, many people. This is the best, they say, hundred day start of any president in history, and everyone is saying it.”
– Donald Trump, April 29, 2025
Well, we’re not saying it. During his campaign, Trump ran from the highly unpopular Project 2025 that has so clearly become the blueprint for his presidency. Since his election, he has engaged in grossly corrupt self-enrichment while wreaking havoc on our economy, kowtowing to Putin, and blatantly disregarding the rule of law in unparalleled attacks on the Constitution as well as the authority of Congress and the judiciary. But what have his actions meant for the day-to-day lives of working people?
We can’t do nearly as thorough a job here as the Economic Policy Institute did with their “100 Ways Trump Hurt Workers in his First 100 Days” report (tinyurl.com/Iguana2177) and Michael Podhorzer’s “The Trump Regime’s War on Working People,” (tinyurl.com/Iguana2178) and we highly recommend checking those out if you’re looking for a more detailed analysis. However, here are some major actions of the Trump administration:
Stripping more than1 million federal workers of their right to collectively bargain.
Removal of key personnel from the National Labor Relations Board, Federal Labor Relations Authority, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Large-scale reductions in the federal workforce and attempted dismantling of entire federal agencies, in clear violation of Congressional authority. Beyond just the impacts on these workers will be the individuals and communities that they serve, as fundamental services that many people rely upon are undermined, such as Social Security and Medicaid.
Compromising Americans’ security through granting Elon Musk’s DOGE access to sensitive government records.
Lowering minimum wage requirements for federal workers and contractors nationwide.
Firing staff and delaying the implementation of rules whose purpose was to bolster worker safety.
Attacks on the funding and improvement of public education.
Rescinding funds already promised to our communities to strengthen our infrastructure, support scientific research, create jobs, and combat climate change.
Increasing our healthcare costs.
Treating our hard-working immigrant neighbors like animals, stigmatizing and stripping them of their basic human and legal rights in what can only be a test case for what’s in store for the rest of us, citizen or otherwise.
All this in his first 100 days. All this before consumers have even truly begun to feel the effects of Trump’s tariff roulette, the ripple effects throughout our economy as people lose their benefits, their jobs, their homes; as small businesses’ supply chains are disrupted. And all this, not only in the name of tax cuts to benefit the wealthy; but even more importantly, in an effort to destroy the only institutions standing between working people and outright oligarchy. If things continue along this path, it is hard not to imagine severe economic hardship if not blood in the streets, before this year is out.
“We’ve just gotten started. You haven’t even seen anything yet. It’s all just kicking in.”
—Donald Trump, April 29, 2025
But as the old saying goes, “don’t mourn, organize.” We are deeply encouraged by the outpouring of public sentiment against Trump’s Project 2025 rollout, by the raucous Congressional town halls, the massive rallies, the workers banding together on the job.
We must continue to organize in our workplaces, and in our Congressional districts, and seize every opportunity to weaken Trump and his corporate enablers. We must be prepared to support one another as the economic pain spreads, and to protect those most vulnerable to the bullies running this administration.
We will get through this sad and terrible moment in our nation’s history, together. Only together.