This statement can be attributed to Lorena Roque, interim director of Education, Labor, and Worker Justice at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

Washington, D.C. January 30, 2025 –President Trump’s moves this week to fire two members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)’s general counsel, and the NLRB chair–coupled with his plan to shrink the federal workforce through employee buyouts–are an ominous sign, particularly for the enforcement of labor laws, the rights of workers to form unions, and for people of color and women facing discrimination. These political maneuvers are a clear abuse of power and a resounding demonstration of how the Trump Administration plans to strip our nation’s most marginalized workers of their rights and their power to organize.

Agencies such as the Department of Labor (DOL), NLRB, and EEOC that protect workers from discrimination and wage theft are left with an even further shrunken workforce to guard against unscrupulous employers. Notably, people of color and women, who typically earn lower wages than their white male counterparts, are more likely to be subject to discrimination and unfair labor practices. In recent years, the EEOC, DOL, and NLRB issued memoranda of understanding and frequently worked together to collaboratively enforce labor laws with equity in mind.

Taken together, these firings and potential buyouts are a clear strategy to reduce workplace rights by harming the enforcement of labor laws. With the firing of Gwynne Wilcox, chair of the NLRB, the Board now lacks the quorum necessary to issue decisions on appealed unfair labor practices, paving the way for bad-faith employers to stall union contracts and preventing workers from having meaningful access to remedies in instances of retaliation, illegal firing, and union-busting. The administration’s efforts are not limited to terminating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, but to limiting accessibility to services and protections that workers rightfully deserve.

The first Trump Administration ordered federal agencies to cease all DEI training and banned federal agencies, contractors, and recipients of federal grants from providing employees with training related to race and gender discrimination. This administration has doubled down on anti-racial justice efforts by rolling back the Equal Opportunity Employment Act, which prohibits employment discrimination and calls on federal contractors to take affirmative action to ensure employees are treated equally, “without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.”

CLASP stands ready to fight for all people with low incomes. We call on federal and state policymakers to oppose these reckless actions and take steps to slow down and mitigate the harm while also supporting working people. In addition, we call on our partners in the racial equity and democracy advocacy space to join the effort to push back against these harmful attacks, which are an affront to our collective goals to build a more just and equitable country.