Civil service workers: Front-line against union busting and corporate domination

ORLANDO—“If they can bust our unions, how long before they come for the rest of us?” asked American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) president Everett Kelley during the second session of the 54th International Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) Convention.

Both Kelley and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) president Lee Saunders were keynote speakers at Friday’s session to make the case for labor to rally its entire force behind the defense of the civil service workers currently under direct assault by the billionaire-backed Trump administration.

Kelley detailed how, historically, billionaires and the corporate consolidation of power starts with attacking and dismantling the trade unions. “Now, they know unions are one of the last obstacles to complete corporate domination of our economy. They know that a union contract is often the only thing that stands between workers and complete exploitation,” he said.

The immediate task of the trade unions, Kelley said to the delegates, who represented 60 different unions, is to rally in defense of the civil service workers to build enough solidarity so that the ultra-right extremists and their billionaire backers will be unable to destroy the whole labor movement.

“And they know that public sector unions are defenders of a true, public government that works for the people, not for the rich. And make no mistake—these attacks on government workers are part of a larger strategy that will affect the entire labor movement and undermine the very foundation of democracy,” Kelley warned.

While the Republican Party and the Trump administration try to sell to the U.S. working class that they are a “pro-labor” party, Kelley rejected that claim on its face. “We know smoke and mirrors when we see it. These fools are not about making government better. They’re about breaking the power of working people and concentrating it into the hands of the few,” he said.

Kelley framed this struggle in uncompromising terms: “This fight happening right now is a fight for racial justice, economic justice, and labor justice—all wrapped together.” For many, it is a fight to defend democracy itself—the people’s voice in how they are governed. It is a struggle over power, he said.

So far, Trump issued an executive order that strips collective bargaining rights from nearly a million federal workers, particularly in agencies related to “national security”—already a dubious claim given the targeted agencies. Rather, many trade unionists see this move as part of a broader effort to weaken labor unions and the entire working-class in the U.S. 

According to a new report last week from the AFL-CIO, Trump also created a new tier of government workers—Schedule F—workers who could be fired for no reason at all. His administration plans to cut 50,000 workers, at least, and create a “spoils system” reminiscent of the Gilded Age.

“The plan seems to be to fire as many federal workers as possible first before redesignating positions as Schedule F and hiring the loyalist replacements in earnest,” the federation’s report said.

Echoed the urgency

AFSCME president Lee Saunders echoed the urgency of fighting these anti-labor moves, stressing that the attacks on federal and state workers are not about “government efficiency” but rather a targeted attack on workers’ democratic rights in general—and Black workers in particular. 

“These billionaires may target public service workers first because they think that we are an easy target. But make no mistake,” Saunders said, “the corporate interests bankrolling Project 2025 want to wipe all unions off the map.”

Saunders continued, connecting the union busting to a racist attack on Black workers: “Nearly 20% of the Black workers in the U.S. are in the local, state or federal government. We’re more likely to work in public service than any other group in America…these are union jobs!” 

This fight goes beyond labor, he said. “It is a fight for our freedom—for workers’ rights, civil rights, human rights, and for our very democracy!”

Speaking to enthusiastic responses from the 800 mostly Black labor activists at the convention, Saunders cited research showing unions’ role in closing the racial wealth gap and how the anti-worker policies are inherently racist policies.

“Union membership cuts the racial wealth gap among working families in half,” he said. The threat to that progress is dire, he added. “Our government has been taken over by billionaires and anti-union extremists who want to burn public service jobs to the ground. They want to burn our unions to the ground.”

Both Kelley and Saunders agreed that while “playing defense” is critical—fighting in the courts and protecting their existing union membership base—it’s not enough to mount an effective fight-back. Kelley invoked boxing to make his point, saying that playing defense is important—”But in order to win, we need to go on offense.”

Saunders spelled out the offensive strategy for labor: “We need to get back to basics—Agitate, Educate, Organize! We need to organize every single day.” 

He went on to describe the necessary grind of grassroots mobilization: “We will follow in the same playbook we always have when anti-worker extremists come after us. We’re going to organize. All of us are going to organize!” 

Furthermore, “we need to get out there in our communities every single day,” he said. “We need to talk to folks at work sites. We need to knock on those doors. We need to go to those grocery stores, go to those barbershops, go to the beauty salons, and sit down and talk about engaging in this fight and engaging in this battle.”

CBTU convention delegates responded with action, passing resolutions to stand in solidarity with AFGE and all public service workers, as well as to engage full force in the fight against privatization of the Postal Services—whether it be the USPS or Canada Post.

As the CBTU convention came to a close for the day, there was a strong sense of pride, urgency, and dedication to the fight that swept through the delegates, with many cheering and shouting in response to the labor leaders’ calls for resolute action and principled struggle for the needs of Black and all working people, in defense of organized labor, and for solidarity both among those struggling in the U.S. and internationally in the labor movement.

Eric Brooks contributed material for this story

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