08 Apr BCTGM Members Tell President Trump and Elon Musk: HANDS OFF UNIONS!

On April 5, BCTGM members gathered with labor allies and community members across the U.S. to tell President Trump, Elon Musk and Republicans in the House and Senate: Hands Off Our Unions!

According to BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton, this is personal for BCTGM members. “In only two months, the Trump Administration has gutted federal agencies, paralyzed the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and eliminated important health and safety protections for workers across our industries,” Shelton said. “It has defunded the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), which provides labor arbitration and mediation services, and eliminated corporate oversight—putting BCTGM members at risk in their jobs.”

The Administration has also haphazardly—and in some cases illegally—eliminated millions of government jobs with the help of its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), run by Elon Musk. This has often meant blatantly violating Union collective bargaining agreements, and on March 28^th Trump made his most egregious attack on workers to date: An executive order canceling the collective bargaining agreements of a million federal workers.

“Our Union has always been a leader in the fight for legislative issues important to working families,” Shelton continued. “This is precisely why a strong Labor Movement is necessary, and it was important for BCTGM leaders and members to lock arms with the growing coalition needed to meet this moment.”

“I was proud to see our members among the millions fighting to protect their Union rights,” Shelton concluded.

According to the HANDS OFF coalition website, handsoff2025.com, 1,300 protests were carried out on April 5th, marking the largest day of collective action since Trump’s inauguration.

“What we witnessed today was nothing short of extraordinary,” said Rahna Epting, Executive Director of MoveOn, which contributed organizing resources to the massive uprising. “Across the country and around the world, people came together to say: We will not be silent while our rights, our futures and our democracy are under attack!”

Pictured on this page, BCTGM members and staff join HANDS OFF protests in seven different cities across the U.S.