by Fred Redmond, AFL-CIO secretary/treasurer
President Trump likes to say he is delivering for working people. He promised on the campaign trail that he would protect “Black jobs.” But like so many of his promises, it is an empty one. In fact, we have been living with the effects of Trump’s policies since he took office in January and the only thing he has delivered for us is employment uncertainty and financial insecurity. The July jobs report that came out last week is starting to reflect that.
Black unemployment has now surged to more than seven percent, nearly double the country’s overall unemployment rate. For both Black Americans as a whole and Black women in particular, unemployment has reached its highest level since 2021 and will likely continue to grow. These are not just numbers on a page. They mean our entire communities are suffering. Black workers, who make up a significant part of the federal workforce, have been among those Trump has been firing by the tens of thousands since taking office. Black women are more likely to work in health care and caregiving jobs, and Trump just signed into law what will become the largest health care cut in American history.
Too many of us are familiar with the experience of being “last hired, first fired.” But the data shows it’s actually fact. In good economic times, Black workers are the last brought on board, and when the economy is in a slide, we are the first to be shown the door. We are the canaries in the coal mine for the economy as a whole. So when unemployment in our community has been steadily increasing, it’s a signal that the entire country is heading toward a recession.
Though the recent jobs report shows Black Americans were hit hardest, we aren’t the only ones feeling the pain. Unemployment increased in every demographic group and nearly one million people became jobless in July alone. Key industries are bleeding jobs, including manufacturing, government, retail and mining. So how does Trump respond to this bleak data? He fired the head of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. He’d rather shoot the messenger than face the reality of a bad report—and change his policies to build an economy that works for all of us.
It’s clear that in the labor movement, we’ve got our work cut out for us. We’re going to keep organizing, so that every worker has a voice on the job and a chance to bargain with their co-workers for the pay and job security they deserve. We’re going to keep fighting for fair contracts to make sure Black workers can show up to their jobs every day without facing discrimination and aren’t exploited by greedy bosses. And we’ll keep fighting to hold the Trump administration accountable when it pushes anti-worker, anti-Black policies. Trump’s economy may be working for his billionaire buddies, but for the rest of us, it’s a disaster. It’s time to take our country back to ensure Black workers (and all workers) finally get the fair shot at getting ahead that we deserve.
(Fred Redmond, the highest-ranking African American labor official in history, is the Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation representing 63 unions and nearly 15 million workers).
