Empathy and Egalitarianism: What’s the State of Worker Solidarity Now that Americans Elected the Worst Boss Ever?

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While a well-documented failure as businessman, Donald Trump found a savior in Mark Burnett who transformed his image from king of cons and bankruptcies into the illusion of a successful businessman with his NBC show The Apprentice, which first aired in 2004. Trump’s trademark line in the show, of course, was, “You’re fired.”  The line became something of a meme. I even remember my local drugstore chain selling pens displayed at the counter with a Donald Trump head at the top of the pen. When you pressed it, it voiced this famous line.

If we stop and think about it, it’s not the best sign for working-class solidarity or for a democratic anti-oligarch culture and politics to have the American people identifying with and infatuated by a mean-spirited and hard-line boss who gets off on firing employees. Having millions of viewers take vicarious pleasure in the firing of workers doesn’t bode well for the prospects of  establishing a baseline set of values for fostering a pro-worker culture and economy to challenge corporate power and the reign of billionaires.

In any case, it’s a far cry from Johnny Paycheck’s 1977 hit “Take This Job and Shove It,” which gave voice to every worker’s desire to liberate oneself from their abusive or exploitative boss. That song asked us to identify with our fellow workers, as opposed to The Apprentice which invites viewers to identify with a harsh boss and take pleasure in the blood sport of taking a peer’s livelihood and thrusting them into economic precarity.

How we’re taught to empathize has huge stakes for the kind of political culture and economy we can create. To empathize with a vindictive boss, or any boss, is to identify with the keeper of power in a relationship of domination and subordination and to endorse effectively a hierarchical and thus anti-egalitarian social and political organization of our world. To empathize and identify with workers against the hierarchy the boss represents, on the other hand, is to forward a vision and desire for a non-hierarchical and more egalitarian society and economy.

Before the 2024 presidential election, a key question was which candidate would promote working-class interests most seriously and effectively in our not-yet egalitarian world characterized by gross economic inequality. 

Trump’s promise to voters to be “your retribution” seems to have had some success in attracting American voters feeling wronged by current economic arrangements that exclude them from sharing in the vast wealth the majority of Americans help produce only to find themselves struggling to meet the basic needs of their families.

Yet, as I wrote recently in discussing the celebration of Luigi Mangione, we need a politics of redistribution, not a politics of retribution.

Trump’s politics of retribution, especially, has turned out to be anti-worker and anti-solidarity–and decidedly pro-corporate power.

As we see with his recent efforts to remove millions of federal workers by scaring them into resignation and cultivating toxic workplaces, his politics of retribution still boil down to “You’re fired.” And Trump’s history shows he has repeatedly stiffed and disempowered workers, fighting unionization and doing what he can to underpay or, in some cases, not pay his workers.

 It should be clear, though, if you think for two seconds, that celebrating “You’re fired” will not result in worker empowerment.

The fact is, if you think about it, Americans just elected the worst boss ever:  the boss everybody hates, whose style of leadership is more interested in making your life miserable and thrilling in his power to do so, than in creating a happy and productive workplace that honors people’s talents and contributions.

We all know this person. If this were a movie, like, say, 9 to 5, he’s the arrogant and abusive boss we all want to get his come-uppance in the end. If it were The Karate Kid, he’s the guy we want Ralph Macchio to execute his powerful crane kick on.

Now more than ever we need to cultivate the empathy and the sense of common interest that are the foundation of solidarity and worker empowerment.

The working-class majority in America can surely empathize with this:

Imagine having done your job for years, even decades, and a new boss comes in and wants to punish you for having dutifully done your job. He harasses and threatens you and makes your workplace miserable. Every morning you wake up sick to your stomach at the thought of facing another day with this boss, not knowing what will happen but having a powerful knowledge whatever happens won’t be good. And yet your livelihood is at stake. You need to take care of your kids, pay your rent, buy groceries, and just meet your basic needs.

Even worse, the boss is going around your union, forcing you and your union to pursue legal action, drawing out the stress and uncertainty of your position.

On top of that, the boss trying to force you out, claiming he wants to down-size to save money, doesn’t even have the authority to determine the organization’s budget and how it spends money.

And there’s more! Imagine your work, your position, has been effectively protected regardless of who the top boss is because you don’t technically work for that boss but for the American people. And then imagine the American people will in fact suffer if these millions of jobs disappear because they have depended on the services you and the millions of other workers provide.

Well, this is what is happening to millions of federal workers receiving emails from the Trump administration trying to coerce them into resigning or just outright firing those who have no protections.

Last Friday, the Department of Justice fired dozens of prosecutors involved in January 6 cases and has promised to initiate a “review process” for FBI employees involved in investigating Capitol riot cases.

Trump deems these employees, doing the work their positions demanded of them, as disloyal to him–not disloyal to the American people and the government but to him.

The emails to the two million federal employees also clearly implied that loyalty to Trump is an issue, stating that ”federal workforce should be comprised of employees who are reliable, loyal, trustworthy, and who strive for excellence in their daily work.”

These employees, the email informed, have until Thursday, February 6 to make a choice. To accept the offer of resigning and receiving pay and benefits through the end of September, employees were instructed to reply to the email and type “Resign.” Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) have warned employees that this “deal” is another Trump scam and there’s no guarantee they will be paid.

By law, Trump does not have the authority to authorize the spending the buy-outs entail. Congress would need to authorize that spending. Additionally, Trump circumvented the union protections many of these workers enjoy, and any firings or forced resignations will be challenged.

The emails also contained threats that if employees did not agree to these terms, they might very well lose their jobs anyway, stating that, “the majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized” and that “we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency.”

And we need to keep in mind that support and solidarity for these workers is more than empathy. It’s enlightened self-interest.

As PBS News reported: “Untold numbers of front-line health workers in the Veterans Affairs Department, officials who process loans for homebuyers or small businesses, and contractors who help procure the next generation of military weaponry could all head for the exits at once. It could also mean losing experienced food inspectors and scientists who test the water supply — while disrupting everything from air travel and consumer product protections.”

There are huge stakes for all Americans in the firing or forced resignations of federal employees, as we saw recently with the D.C. plane crash. Trump had just gutted key aviation safety agencies!

Everett Kelley, President of the American Federation of Government Employees, echoed this reporting, highlighting the damage to all Americans Trump’s downsizing efforts promises inflict as well as his efforts to make government workplaces toxic: 

“Purging the federal government of dedicated career federal employees will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government. Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to.”

Trump is the bad boss, indeed, that so many Americans should be able to relate to.

But let’s stress again that beyond the experience of these employees, this move threatens us all. This is a blanket call for resignations from two-thirds of the three million federal workforce in blanket fashion, with no evaluation of specific positions, what they do, and how they serve us.

It’s beyond stupid, careless, and mean; it’s dangerous.

Now is the time for empathy if we want an egalitarian culture and society.

Egalitarianism requires collective effort and having empathy for each individual and their rights. This is the basis of solidarity and worker empowerment. We protect each others’ equality and rights to protect our own. It is crucial we recognize the dignity of each individual instead of lusting to have power over them, to deprive them of rights, and to put them in a position to suffer indignities. For you to enjoy those conditions, you must ensure others do, as opposed to seeking to have power over them.