Donald Trump supporters are still out there telling us his election had absolutely nothing
to do with racism, it's all middle class anger in America but he's going to fix it.
He is the populist in this election.
That claim today is just as untrue as it was when Trump made those claims months ago.
There is nothing populist about Donald Trump, there is not any piece of Donald Trump that
actually cares about American workers.
That is very terrifying.
Because when we look at the gains that the labor movement has made under President Obama,
one of the few areas where he actually has done a very good job as President and he does
deserve credit for this.
The labor movement is about to take a massive hit.
Now think about when Donald Trump had his hotel workers striking against the not making
enough money to survive.
The man didn't care.
He wanted to go ahead and fire them, replace them with cheaper workers.
He has proven through his business history that he does not care about his own workers,
the people that legitimately actually work for him.
What makes anybody think that Donald Trump cares about workers in an industry that he's
not financially invested in?
That's silliness.
The labor movement over the last few years has made huge gains under President Obama
and through voter powered initiatives.
The fight for 15.
States and cities all over this country have increased their minimum wage based on voter
initiatives, voter turn out.
The people spoke and the government was forced to respond because those amendments, those
initiates passed.
Donald Trump doesn't believe we should have a minimum wage, thinks it hurts jobs, thinks
it hurts employees.
As we've seen from the cities that have enacted $15 minimum wage the opposite is actually
true because as any decent economist will tell you and as every single person who's
ever taken macroeconomics understands because you're taught this when you give people more
money they spend more money.
The bottom 95% of income workers in the United States spend 99% of their paychecks on disposable
goods, utilities and bills.
99%.
The top 5% spend 20% of their earnings.
The rest is reinvested.
Which group does it make more sense to give more money?
The people who have to spend it all to survive?
That spending has ripple effects throughout the economy.
You give the average 25 year old a $3, $4 an hour raise they go out and spend that money.
They can afford to go to the movies.
They can afford to buy a new car.
That spending helps the economy.
They can afford to go to the doctor.
Donald Trump doesn't believe that we should even have a minimum wage.
President Obama had signed this overtime rule, it's supposed to be in full effect this December
for federal and contract workers.
Donald Trump can do away with that with 1 executive order.
That is literally something he could accomplish on day 1 getting rid of that Obama overtime
rule.
Gone forever on day 1.
The minute he's sworn in he can sign it and it's over forever.
That is something that I don't think American workers truly understand.
This non-racist white working class that everybody says we didn't listen to, they're about to
lose everything.
Everything that they gained under President Obama even though they don't know that they
gained it from President Obama.
When we're looking at a prospect right now of Scott Walker, governor of Wisconsin possibly
becoming Donald Trump's labor secretary the whole United States could become a right to
work country which will put unions completely out of business, it'll be extinct, a think
of the past, something kids will learn in history book.
What's a labor union?
That's what's going to happen if Scott Walker gets appointed by Trump to be the secretary
of labor.
That is a very real possibility, his name is being floated right now.
American workers can't take another hit, especially after the gains that they have been making.
Again, both from Obama and from people powered movements.
The only hope is that people continue to fight because we are not going to have a friend
in the White House, we are not going to have a worker friendly House, we're not going to
have a worker friendly Senate.
If the voters want to protect what they have gotten, if the middle class wants to protect
that they have to continue with these initiatives because President Trump could take it all
away on day 1.