The newly elected chair of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, has warned his party that the Republicans are now seen as the party of the working class and vowed to win back the trust of American workers as the Democrats seek to rebuild after their losses in the 2024 presidential election.
In his first memo in the role, seen by the Guardian, Martin said, after the election, “for the first time in modern history, Americans now see the Republicans as the party of the working class and Democrats as the party of the elites”.
The memo, titled “Democrats Will Fight Against Trump’s War on Working People”, comes as Martin is set to meet with United Steel Workers members in Pittsburgh.
“By joining together in a union, working people have secured better wages, workplace protections, healthcare and the weekend. Because here’s the thing: unions expand opportunities for all workers – not just those who are members,” Martin wrote.
Martin emphasized his experience and background growing up in a working-class family and as a card-carrying union member, organizer and then chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party.
“I fundamentally believe that our party is grounded in the values, principles,
and aspirations of the working class. As chair of the DNC, that belief will
guide my decisions and approach in the years ahead. In contrast, in only his
first month in office, it’s become abundantly clear Donald Trump doesn’t
give a damn about the kitchen-table issues that matter to most Americans,” Martin explained in the memo. “Trump and the billionaire advisors he has surrounded himself with don’t give a damn about what it takes for a working family to put food on the table and keep a roof above their heads – let alone make a better life for themselves and their loved ones.”
He contrasts Democrats’ support of working people with Trump and Elon Musk’s actions over the past several weeks which have included the unlawful firing of a board member of the National Labor Relations Board, Gwynne Wilcox, that has undermined the agency’s ability to enforce workers’ rights and Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” working to dismantle federal agencies and gain access to data in the Department of Labor.
In the first weeks of Trump’s second term as president, his administration has also rescinded worker protections for federal contractors, unilaterally canceled collective bargaining agreements with federal workers, and fired thousands of probationary federal employees while pushing 75,000 workers to accept resignation offers, inciting numerous lawsuits from labor unions representing federal employees.
During his first presidential term, Martin noted Trump created offshoring incentives for corporations, stacked federal courts with appointees who attacked collective bargaining rights and attacked union workers on several occasions, claiming striking workers should be fired and calling firefighter union leaders “dues-sucking people”.
“Trump’s administration includes more billionaires than any other in
American history, with a combined net worth that exceeds the GDP of 172
different countries. These appointees bring damning anti-union, anti-worker
records that mirror Trump’s own,” Martin added. “Despite his insistence on the campaign trail, Trump has never stood with working people. His disastrous first month in office proves that, while billionaires will be well taken care of, working people face great danger under this Trump administration.”
The memo cited several Trump appointees with records of opposing workers’ rights, including Trump’s interior secretary, Doug Burgum, who opposed the Inflation Reduction Act and the Chips Act over labor protections included in the bill; billionaire Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for commerce secretary, whose real estate firm has promoted offshoring jobs to Mexico to corporations; and education secretary and billionaire Linda McMahon, who supports defunding public education, where 70% of teachers are unionized compared with 11% at private charter schools, and dismantling the US Department of Education.
The memo also discusses Elon Musk’s long record of attacking workers at his own businesses, including at Tesla, SpaceX and X when he bought Twitter, and emphasizes the destructive policies outlined in Project 2025, the rightwing blueprint drawn up ahead of Trump’s re-election.
Trump denied a connection to Project 2025 during his presidential campaign, but has followed the project and appointed one of its architects, Russell Vought, as head of the White House budget office.
“Unions protect workers regardless of identity, offer a pathway to the middle class, and raise standards for union and non-union members alike. Trump’s continued Project 2025 threats to unions are a direct attack on the wellbeing of working families everywhere,” Martin concluded. “As I take over as chair of the DNC, union workers and labor leaders will be core to my decision-making. As Trump wages his war on working families, Democrats will fiercely answer the call to my favorite old union song, Which Side Are You On? I’ll tell you what: Democrats are on the side of the worker. We will show Americans every day that workers in fact do have more power than any billionaire.”
