From a labor point of view, we do not need to look at Trump's seedy and illegal dealings with the Ukraine or Russia to understand this New York City billionaire as unfit for office. No, union members need look no further than his right-wing union-busting appointments to the Supreme Court, appointments that resulted in "fair share" union dues being outlawed. We need look no further than his own administration imposing a rule change whereby most unionized home health care workers in the nation would not be allowed to even voluntarily have union dues taken out of their paychecks. We need look no further than his anti-worker appointments to the National Labor Relations Board which have done all in their power to degrade and erode the rights of labor through their politically motivated corporatist rulings. We need look no further than his tragic betrayal of our Kurdish/YPG/YPJ brothers and sisters in Rojava (Syria) who he sold out to the Turks when it became convenient. We need look no further than his overt sexism and racism. And we need look no further than Trump's own words when it comes to his views of organized labor. "I fight unions very hard. ... I like right-to-work better. ... My position on right-to-work is 100 percent" (Trump to South Carolina Radio Network, 2016).
Yes, my friends, Trump is anti-union and anti-worker. He is a billionaire that values his own wealth over the well-being of the nation. We, as union members, do not need legal theories to justify his removal. All we need to know is that in the age-old class war that has been fought for generations, Trump, like too many that came before him, is on the wrong side of history. He needs to be removed.
But let us not remove him and then allow the other party the power to place a more mild-mannered enemy on the throne. Lest we forget the frustrations that propelled Trump to power in the first place. We do not need more NAFTAs, more job-killing free trade deals, more mandatory minimums, more welfare "reform," more corporate welfare, more imperialist wars. We do not need another party to sell out unions and working people, even if they are less crude on Twitter. No, my friends, what we actually need is health care as a human right, livable wages, paid family medical leave, card check and free college tuition for our children. We need a new social contract whereby working people, the vast majority, benefit from an economic model grounded in equity and fairness. We need a radical expansion of democracy whereby the many and not the few decide our common fate through a participatory process.
But as to the present question of Trump ... it is easy. He chose his side long ago, and it is not with us. It is time to end his run at playing a piss-poor third-rate version of Mussolini on the world stage. Impeach.
Van Deusen is a part-time resident of Moretown, Vermont.
