New Warren Report Exposes How Trump Has Turned His Back on American Workers

New Warren Report Exposes How Trump Has Turned His Back on American Workers

Text of Report (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released a new report titled "10 Ways President Trump Has Hurt American Workers," detailing how President Trump has broken his promises to workers.

"Donald Trump promised American workers he'd have their backs, then turned on them once he took office," said Senator Warren. "He's made it harder for workers to get a job and join a union, and easier for giant corporations to deny benefits and endanger workers. Working people power the American economy - they deserve better."

Senator Warren's report lays out how, instead of supporting workers, President Trump has actually made life worse for them, including by:

1. Making it harder for workers to get a job;
   • Thanks to Trump's illegal war, chaotic trade policy, and cruel immigration policies, the labor market is effectively "frozen."
2. Being the biggest union-buster in American history;
   • Trump has stripped collective bargaining rights from over 1 million federal workers in "the largest act of union busting in American history."
3. Standing in the way of workers forming new unions;
   • Under Trump, the National Labor Relations Board has largely backed down from enforcing labor protections, leaving corporations free to illegally crack down on unions. After facing anti-union headwinds under Trump, the number of union elections has fallen by nearly 30%, and the number of union wins fell by almost 27%.
4. Allowing employers to misclassify workers, leaving them without legal protections and benefits;
   • Trump's Labor Department has made it easier for employers to misclassify workers as independent contractors, to avoid giving them protections and benefits like minimum wage, unemployment benefits, Social Security contributions, health insurance, and sick leave.
5. Cutting overtime pay for millions of workers;
   • Trump's Labor Department is making 4.3 million workers ineligible for overtime-taking $1.5 billion out of workers' pockets annually.
6. Taking labor agencies off the beat, leaving workers with no recourse for discrimination and unfair labor practices;
   • Trump illegally fired half of the commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Chair of the National Labor Relations Board, leaving both agencies unable to perform their full statutory duties to protect workers.
7. Scrapping protections against workplace harassment;
   • Trump's hand-picked Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission threw out rules that prevented discrimination, including sexual harassment and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.
8. Allowing an independent civil rights protection agency to pursue politically motivated cases;
   • Trump's hand-picked Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has forced all litigation decisions to go through her, allowing her to limit which workers she protects and pursue politically motivated cases instead of legitimate discrimination claims.
9. Making the workplace more dangerous and leading to preventable worker injuries and deaths; and
   • Trump cut funding for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is charged with preventing unsafe job sites, worker injuries, and deaths. The agency has cut the number of workplace safety inspections it performs, and loosened regulations that protect workers' exposure to carcinogens.
10. Announcing plans to scrap workplace protections for pregnant women.
    • Trump's hand-picked Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has indicated she has plans to eliminate protections for workers undergoing fertility treatments, menopause, menstruation, and more.

Senator Warren has led the fight to protect American workers under the Trump administration:

• In May 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.), Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Minority Leader Schumer (D-N.Y.) led 12 senators in pressing the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on the Commission's efforts to weaken a rule affirming employment protections for workers undergoing fertility treatments.
• In March 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) questioned Dan Adcock of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare about Republicans' plans to raise the retirement age.
• In February 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.), Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Baldwin (D-Ill.), Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Padilla (D-Calif.), and Wyden (D-Ore.) released new data revealing the Trump administration's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) performed 20% fewer inspections and issued 42% fewer fines for severe workplace violations in 2025-indicating that the Trump Department of Labor may be discouraging inspectors from enforcing workplace safety laws. The lawmakers also launched an investigation into the Department of Labor's broader plans to eliminate key safety regulations, putting American workers at serious risk.
• In December 2025, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) and Congresswoman DeLauro (D-Conn.) reintroduced the Schedules That Work Act to address unpredictable scheduling practices that may deprive workers of income and require them to work unreasonable hours, like "clopening" shifts that leave little time to commute and rest between shifts.
• In December 2025, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) and Congresswoman Schakowsky (D-Ill.) reintroduced the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights Act to strengthen protections for part-time workers and allow them to better balance their work schedules with personal and family needs.
• In November 2025, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Duckworth (D-Ill.), along with Representatives Dingell (D-Mich.) and Simon (D-Calif.) led 56 members of Congress in pressing Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer about the Department of Labor's dismantling of key disability employment protections.
• In September 2025, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Sherman (D-Calif.) reintroduced the Nationwide Right to Unionize Act, legislation that would support the right to unionize by invalidating "right-to-work" laws meant to weaken unions' ability to organize workers.
• In September 2025, at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Aging, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) highlighted how "just-in-time" scheduling practices-which leave workers with last-minute shift assignments and inflexible schedules-have a particularly negative effect on older workers in part-time jobs.
• In June 2025, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) led members of the Senate Democratic Caucus in writing to the Secretary of the Department of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, urging the department to preserve President Biden's expansion of the overtime threshold.
• In March 2025, Senator Warren (D-Mass.), along with Senator Booker (D-N.J.), then-Representative Connolly and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Raskin (D-Md.), led 38 Members of Congress in a letter to President Donald Trump, raising concerns about his unlawful firings of dozens of independent agency heads and inspectors general (IGs), and calling attention to how many of these firings appear to benefit Elon Musk.

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