DNC Chair Ken Martin criticizes Trump’s labor policies in first memo, vowing to strengthen union support but offering few specific policy proposals.
Newly appointed Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Ken Martin has signaled a strong pro-labor stance in his first official memo, vowing to counter what he described as President Donald Trump’s “war on working people.”
The Feb. 18 memo lays out the Democratic Party’s strategy to boost its image after former Vice President Kamala Harris lost the popular vote and electoral college to Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
“I believe the canary in the coal mine for what happened on November 5 was the recent showing that, 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,” Martin wrote of last fall’s election.
He went on to criticize the Trump administration’s early actions as detrimental to labor unions and middle-class Americans. Martin previously served as the chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
He emphasized the need to restore voter confidence in Democrats as the party advocating for workers’ rights.
His memo stressed his view of the role unions play in securing better wages, workplace protections, and health care. He said collective bargaining is essential to economic opportunity.
“Unions expand opportunities for all workers—not just those who are members,” he said.
Trump administration, however, has taken steps that it says support union representation. One such move was the nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer as secretary of labor. Chavez-DeRemer, a Republican, has previously received endorsements from unions and backed labor-friendly legislation.
The memo also took aim at Trump’s economic policies, claiming they disproportionately benefit billionaires and corporate executives.
Martin accused the administration of appointing officials with histories of union-busting and offshoring American jobs. He named Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Commerce Secretary Nominee Howard Lutnick, and Council of Economic Advisers member Stephen Miran as examples of officials opposed to key labor protections.
Martin described Elon Musk as the “true face of the Trump administration,” alleging that he is influencing federal policy to benefit corporate interests.
He accused Musk, who leads the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, of influencing federal policy to advance corporate interests, including restructuring the federal workforce and controlling government data systems. Martin claimed Musk’s involvement poses risks to public-sector unions and data integrity in agencies such as the Department of Labor.
The Trump administration has argued its labor policies, including deregulation and tax cuts, will lead to economic growth, job creation, and higher wages.
Trump officials have stated that reducing government intervention allows businesses to thrive, which they say benefits workers in the long run. Trump on Tuesday afternoon argued his administration’s policies were already leading some businesses to cancel projects in other countries to bring them to the United States.
Martin said Trump’s labor policies seek to weaken the NLRB, restrict unionization efforts, and roll back labor protections dating back nearly a century. These changes, he said, would lead to lower wages, fewer workplace safety regulations, and increased worker misclassification.
He further claimed that Trump’s policies would disproportionately impact marginalized workers, including those in public-sector unions. He pointed to unions’ role in closing racial wage gaps and argued that weakening them would harm economic mobility for many working families.
At the helm of the DNC, Martin vows to prioritize labor issues in the party’s strategy leading up to the 2026 midterms.
“In response, as the true party of labor and working people, Democrats will stand with unions and up for all working people—in the halls of Congress, in state houses, on the picket lines, and in the streets,” he said.
A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the letter’s allegations before publication time.