HARRISBURG, Pa., and DETROIT – AFSCME public service workers and other union members in Pennsylvania and Michigan held a “shred day” over the weekend to oppose Donald Trump’s Project 2025, which would weaken public services and take freedoms away from working people.
Members from AFSCME Council 13 in Harrisburg and AFSCME Michigan in Detroit, along with members of other unions that are part of the AFL-CIO, gathered on Saturday to detail how Trump’s plan would crush unions, eliminate overtime protections, repeal the $35 cap on insulin for seniors, end negotiations for lower prescription drug prices, and more.
Project 2025 is a roadmap for Trump’s second term and was cooked up by his allies and advisers. Trump pretends to know nothing about it, but that’s false.
The Washington Post reports that he took a private flight with Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts to a Heritage Foundation conference in 2022 and said in a speech that Heritage “will lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do.”
CNN reports that at least 140 former Trump administration officials were involved in creating Project 2025, including six former cabinet secretaries.
Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, wrote the foreword to Roberts’ book, “Dawn’s Early Light.”
“Through our work in PennDOT, we keep roads safe for motorists. We protect them, and our union protects us,” said Ross Thomas, a member of AFSCME Local 3033 (Council 13). “Project 2025 is a dangerous blueprint that aims to dismantle public unions like ours, shred our democratic rights, and destroy our ability to have a voice on the job. If they had their way, our contract and our right to collectively bargain would be eliminated on day one.”
Calvin Johnson, the treasurer for Retired Public Employees of Pennsylvania Chapter 13, spent his career serving the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He said Project 2025 could force retirees like him back to work.
“I always believed that after a career of public service, the promises we’ve relied on — like Medicare and retirement benefits — would be there to support us. Trump’s Project 2025 aims to dismantle Medicare, tear apart our retirement security, and strip away the benefits that have been the backbone of our golden years,” Johnson said.
In Detroit, Lorna Davison, a victim advocate for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and vice president of Local 1659 (AFSCME Michigan 925), said her union may be erased if Trump wins and implements Project 2025.
“As a public service worker, I’m blessed to stand with my co-workers in a strong union. Our contracts bring us stability and peace of mind. And right now, it's all on the chopping block with Trump’s Project 2025,” Davison said. “Project 2025 is a dangerous blueprint that aims to dismantle public unions like ours, shred our democratic rights, and destroy our ability to have a voice on the job.”
The events featured union members ripping signs detailing the threat to fundamental freedoms — such as the freedom to join a union, access affordable health care, and retire with dignity — that we all stand to lose. Following the events, union members canvassed their communities to spread awareness about the threats Project 2025 poses to working people.