They Went After Worker Power—and Called It Control
The great war on bureaucracy has apparently discovered its favorite bureaucrat: the political appointee with a memo pad. The Trump administration’s actions, as framed by this argument, weaken federal collective bargaining and worker protections while selling the result as efficiency. A newsroom raccoon would translate “streamlining” as: fewer workers get a seat at the table, and everyone else reports directly to the throne.
Union bargaining is not decorative red tape. It is one of the few checks keeping workplace power from becoming a private throne with a federal seal. Narrow the worker voice, reduce bargaining, and put more contractor rules under political command, and the system has not become freer. It has simply moved the boss’s chair closer to the top. The office memo says reform; the raccoon reads, “Please stop organizing and admire the filing system.”