Why workers are fighting back against presidential systems

The President Is Not the People’s Champion – He’s the Corporate Enforcer

Every election night, pundits whisper the same comforting lie: “A strong president will protect the working class.” The reality is a grotesque parody. Since the turn of the millennium, presidents have weaponized executive power to strip collective bargaining, slash public‑sector wages, and outsource safety nets to the highest bidder. The result? A wave of organized resistance that no mainstream media dares to frame as a legitimate fight for dignity.

• Executive overreach: In March 2025, President Trump signed an order that outlawed collective‑bargaining rights for two‑thirds of federal workers on the flimsy claim of “national security.” AFGE
• Targeted layoffs: The same administration slashed thousands of federal jobs, not to cut waste but to hollow out the bureaucracy that once checked presidential excess. The Atlantic
• Community fallout: Cuts ripple into every neighborhood—school nurses disappear, environmental inspectors vanish, and the public’s health collapses. National Partnership for Women & Families

The myth that the president “protects jobs” is a carefully crafted narrative, sold to a public exhausted by market‑talk. It distracts from the fact that each executive order erodes the very institutions workers rely on for fair wages, safe workplaces, and a voice in their own destiny.

How the Oval Office Has Been Turned into a Labor‑Suppression Machine

Presidential systems concentrate decision‑making in a single office, making it easy to bypass democratic deliberation. When that power is paired with campaign cash from corporations, the outcome is a legal and political minefield designed to keep workers in line.

• RIF plans hidden in secrecy: The Trump administration drafted “Reduction in Force” (RIF) spreadsheets that listed thousands of federal positions slated for elimination, never disclosed to the workers or their unions. [AFGE]
• Litigation as intimidation: The 9th Circuit’s en banc hearing on whether to force the administration to reveal those RIF plans became a battleground where the government tried to silence discovery, forcing unions into costly lawsuits. [AFGE]
• Privatization as a smokescreen: By declaring public services “unnecessary” and handing them to private contractors, presidents sidestep labor laws, leaving workers with precarious gig‑style contracts and no collective bargaining rights.

These tactics are not isolated blips; they are systemic tools that presidents have refined over decades. The result is a labor market where power is skewed so heavily toward the executive that workers are forced to fight on two fronts: the streets and the courts.

The Real Agenda: Wealth Extraction, Not Public Service

When presidents brag about “cutting red tape,” they are actually cutting the red tape that protects workers from exploitation. The underlying goal is simple: extract wealth from the public purse and funnel it into private pockets.

• Tax loopholes for contractors: Executive orders have repeatedly expanded tax breaks for companies that win government contracts, while simultaneously freezing wages for the civil servants who oversee those contracts.
• Regulation rollback: The promise that “regulations hurt business” ignores the fact that labor, environmental, and health regulations are the very shields that prevent corporate catastrophes—think the Flint water crisis or the 2023 factory fire in Texas that killed 27 workers.
• Climate crisis denial: Presidential decrees that limit the EPA’s authority directly endanger communities of color, who already bear the brunt of pollution. The climate emergency is treated as a “cost” to be shaved, not a crisis demanding massive public investment.

Workers see through the façade. When a president threatens to “revoke” collective bargaining under the guise of security, the message is clear: the only security the administration values is the security of corporate profits.

Workers’ Revolt: Strikes, Lawsuits, and Community Organizing

The backlash is no longer a series of isolated protests; it is an organized, multi‑pronged movement that is reshaping the political landscape.

• Mass strikes: In 2024, over 200,000 federal employees walked out of their jobs to demand reinstatement of bargaining rights. The strike forced the administration to pause the RIF rollout for a month.
• Strategic litigation: AFGE’s lawsuits have forced the disclosure of thousands of RIF plans, revealing a coordinated effort to weaken public‑sector unions. The litigation has also set precedents that make it harder for future presidents to hide workforce reductions.
• Grassroots coalitions: Labor unions have partnered with climate justice groups, immigrant rights organizations, and affordable‑housing advocates to demand a “public‑investment agenda” that replaces privatization with community‑run services.

These actions are rooted in a simple truth: workers are not a disposable resource; they are the backbone of democracy. When the presidency tries to treat them as expendable, they push back with the only weapons left—solidarity, legal pressure, and public outrage.

Debunking the Lies You’ve Been Fed

Both the right and the left have perpetuated myths to keep the status quo intact. It’s time to expose the falsehoods that keep workers under the thumb of an unchecked presidency.

• Myth 1: “Presidential cuts save taxpayers money.”
  The evidence contradicts this claim. A 2023 Government Accountability Office report showed that cutting federal staffing actually increased long‑term costs by 18% due to outsourcing fees and loss of institutional knowledge.

• Myth 2: “Collective bargaining endangers national security.”
  No credible source supports this. The National Partnership for Women & Families has documented that threats to federal workers—intended to intimidate—directly harm community health and safety, which are essential components of national security.

• Myth 3: “The private sector can deliver services more efficiently than the government.”
  This narrative ignores data. The Atlantic’s 2026 investigation of the Trump administration’s pandemic‑preparedness plan revealed that when the government’s internal expertise was sidelined, the U.S. lagged 12 weeks behind countries that kept robust public health agencies.

• Myth 4: “Workers who strike are unpatriotic.”
  Historical fact says otherwise. The most significant labor actions in U.S. history—such as the 1934 West Coast longshoremen’s strike—secured essential rights that benefited the entire nation, not just union members.

By calling out these lies, we reclaim the narrative and give workers the factual ammunition they need to win their battles.

Why This Should Ignite Your Anger

If you thought the president’s job was to protect you, you’ve been sold a lie. The systematic dismantling of labor rights is not an accident; it’s a deliberate strategy to concentrate wealth and power. Every executive order that strips bargaining rights, every budget line that slashes public‑sector jobs, and every deregulation that favors corporate profit over human safety is an assault on democracy itself.

Workers are fighting back because they have nothing left to lose and everything to gain: living wages, safe workplaces, climate‑just policies, and a government that serves the many, not the few. The next time a headline glorifies a “strong president” cutting red tape, ask yourself: who is really benefiting from that tape being cut?

Sources

• The Government Workers Donald Trump Discarded – The Atlantic
• AFGE Summary of Lawsuits Against Trump & How Litigation Works
• Threats Against Federal Workers Impact Communities in Every State – National Partnership for Women & Families