WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a significant display of working-class solidarity, major U.S. trade unions have launched a campaign to fight the Trump administration’s escalating attacks on immigrant workers, labor organizers, and federal workers.
A coalition of 10 national unions representing three million workers, including the Service Employees (SEIU), the United Electrical Workers (UE), American Postal Workers Union (APWU), National Nurses United (NNU), the Painters (IUPAT) and the United Auto Workers (UAW), released a petition Tuesday condemning the Trump administration’s assault on workers’ rights, free speech, and due process.
The petition, “Labor Demands an End to the Assault on the Right to Organize and Protest,” accuses the billionaire-backed Trump administration of waging a campaign of terror against immigrant workers and union members through arbitrary detentions, workplace raids, and suppression of dissent.
The action comes amid a wave of anti-worker executive orders and policies by the Trump administration, including attacks on unionized federal workers, public agencies like the Department of Education and the Post Office, as well as high-profile ICE raids targeting unionized workers and activists. The petition highlights several alarming cases:
Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez, a leader in the berry-pickers union Familias Unidas por la Justicia, was detained in Washington state after ICE agents smashed his car window while he was driving his partner to work.
Lewelyn Dixon, an SEIU Local 925 member and lab tech at the University of Washington, was arrested upon returning from a family trip.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University graduate student and SEIU Local 509 member, was seized by federal agents while on her way to break her Ramadan fast—shortly after writing a pro-Palestine op-ed in her student newspaper.
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a SMART Local 100 apprentice and father of a disabled child, was deported to El Salvador’s notorious prison system in what ICE later called an “administrative error.”
Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate and UAW Local 2710 member, was targeted for protesting Israel’s assault on Gaza in front of his pregnant wife.
“This administration attacked these members of our communities on their way to work, on their way to worship, on their way home,” the petition states. “They locked them up after speaking their minds. And they did that on purpose.”
The coalition calls for immediate action from employers, universities, and elected officials:
Immediate release of the detained workers and an end to ICE raids and deportations of workers exercising their labor and free speech rights.
University administrations to resist federal pressure to silence student and faculty dissent.
Employers and local governments to refuse cooperation with immigration enforcement.
Unions nationwide to organize rallies, demonstrations, and other actions to resist the crackdown.
“We must not be passive or silent in the face of this authoritarian assault on our rights, the Constitution, and democracy itself,” the petition declares.
The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) are particularly vocal about the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, whose deportation has drawn national outrage. In an April 7 statement, the union condemned the administration’s actions.
“Kilmar’s detention and deportation to a dangerous prison in El Salvador is a gross miscarriage of justice. He was a dedicated apprentice, a father, and a valued member of our union. We demand his immediate return and accountability for this cruel and unjust act.”
The case will be heard now by the Supreme Court. Legal advocates arguing that ICE’s actions violate the democratic right to due process.
But on Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts granted an “administrative stay,” a move that will extend the deadline until the Court hands down an official decision. Originally, the Trump administration had until midnight on Monday to secure the return of the illegally deported worker.
This latest labor-led petition builds off the National Labor Network for Ceasefire, which contains many of the same unions. They continue to demand an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s now 18-month long genocidal war on Gaza.
The SEIU recently held a national day of action protesting ICE raids on workers engaged in labor organizing and free speech. As previously reported in People’s World, SEIU members rallied across the country, demanding an end to retaliatory arrests of immigrant workers and defending democratic rights.
The coalition of unions will now prepare for a series of escalating actions to compel lawmakers to intervene. Labor leaders are framing this fight as not just about immigration but about the fundamental right of working people to organize and resist.
“We call on all unions to organize rallies, demonstrations, and other actions to demand that the administration stop these attacks and free our fellow workers,” the petition concludes. “When necessary, we must disrupt business as usual.”
Union members and trade unions can sign the petition here.
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