WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, Monde Libertaire - USA: Trump, Money, Union Response (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

American billionaires seem (for now) euphoric, like the richest man in
the world, Elon Musk: Space X, X (formerly Twitter), Tesla. ---- Trump's
platform includes various cuts to taxes and the corporate tax rate,
leading to a tax break of $1.1 trillion for the richest, while the
poorest 95% of Americans would see their taxes increase. ---- Massive
cuts are planned in healthcare, housing, education, and food assistance.
---- Programs such as Medicare and Social Security will be drastically
reduced: fighting the poor rather than fighting poverty. ---- Although
this represents a dramatic acceleration of the harmful effects of
capitalism in the United States, these measures are a continuation of
the neoliberal policies long implemented by both "Republicans" and
"Democrats," leading some Americans to say:

"Capitalists have two parties, the Democrats and the Republicans."

A recent study by researchers at RAND (Research and Development), an
independent non-profit organization, shows who benefits from economic
growth:

-> Since 1975, 1% of Americans have confiscated $79 trillion (billions
of dollars) from the poorest 90%.

-> The income share of 90% of the population represented:
66% of all taxable income in 1975,
47% in 2019.

-> If income distribution had remained as it was in the early 1970s,
median household income would be twice as high today as it is today.

-> By 2023, $3.9 trillion of the wealth created by the working class
will have ended up in the vast pockets of the richest 1%, which would
have generated an increase of $32,000 for each worker.

In the current situation, it is interesting to read the article "How
American unions intend to resist Trump and his world," when only 10% of
Americans are unionized:
https://rapportsdeforce.fr/pas-de-cote/face-a-trump-les-syndicats-doivent-tenter-limpossible-032623808

This is an interview from March 21, 2025, with Marsha Niemeijer, a
member of Labor Notes, a network bringing together unions, workers'
organizations that have not yet formed a union, and organizations that
work with workers to defend their rights.

Many young people and Latin American workers participated, including
delivery drivers, cleaners, construction workers, and self-employed workers.

Some excerpts:
-> "Labor Notes has always supported the need for democratic, militant
unions led by the rank and file."

-> "Trump wants to create a new American empire that can extract the
world's resources for the benefit of the American capitalist class."
"People will be laid off, there will be pressure on wages, and a
definite impact on already precarious living conditions."

-> "In recent years, we've seen a small wave of activism in the union
movement and in non-union jobs."
"We have unions ready to mobilize around strong demands, often driven by
their members. There's a major unionization effort, particularly at
Starbucks, Amazon, and Apple, where the first union has been created."
"Truck drivers, postal workers, nurses, academics, pilots... major
successful strikes have recently won significant wage increases in the
United States."
"So Trump and the billionaire class want to stop this and discipline
American workers."

-> "The majority of workers, disappointed by the electoral system, have
lost confidence in politicians, left or right."
"The Democratic Party has participated in the destruction of social gains."
"We have a left that is too rooted in the middle class and has focused
on issues of identity."

-> "Some unions are defending immigrants. If we lose on this issue,
racism will deepen and divide the working-class struggle in favor of the
bosses."

-> "Last year, I would have said that the far-left people who call for a
"general strike" every two seconds aren't helping us. But right now,
it's almost what we need. To resist this creeping fascism, we need to be
able to show that there is resistance in the union world. Unions are
more popular than ever: 70% of Americans support them."

Serge
Gaston Leval Group

https://monde-libertaire.fr/?articlen=8301
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