The labor movement and the interests of working families are under steady assault by the Bush Administration. From the four anti-labor executive orders to the repeal of workplace ergonomics standards to interference in airline bargaining to George Bush’s $2.4 trillion tax cut skewed to the super-rich, the White House has made it very clear that they will side with corporate and wealthy interests over working families.

To keep union members, activists and allies informed, a new BushWatch page has been added to the AFL-CIO website at www.aflcio.org/bushwatch. For those who do not have access to the Internet, we will periodically publish information in the JOURNAL from BushWatch which is chronicling the President’s record on working family and union issues.

In just his first 100 days in office, President Bush has launched the harshest attack of our times on working families and their unions. His millionaire tax cut is just part of the pattern. Consider the following:

Bush blocked rules saying federal contracts should go to law-abiding companies, not corporate lawbreakers.

Bush outraged civil rights groups by picking John Ashcroft to become attorney general, despite Ashcroft’s shameful record on desegregation, affirmative action and other working family issues.

Bush nominated Linda Chavez to become labor secretary despite her extreme anti-worker views.

Bush said he will create a commission to help him privatize part of social security and subject retirees’ income to the risks of the stock market.

Bush issued four anti-worker, anti-union executive orders ending job retention protections for employees of federal service contractors; abolishing federal labor-management partnerships; barring project labor agreements on federally funded construction projects; and requiring government contractors to post notices telling employees they cannot be required to become union members and may object to paying the portion of agency fees not related to collective bargaining.

Bush proposed harming public education by creating private school vouchers and proposed zero funding for public school repair and modernization.

Bush has indicated he will lift the ban on unsafe cross-border trucking.

Bush sided with business to push the first-ever congressional repeal of worker safety and health protection.

Bush called for "paycheck deception" to silence working families in politics.

Bush’s budget proposal leaves Medicare open to raiding to pay for his millionaire tax cut. Bush also ignored needs for a strong Medicare prescription drug benefit, proposing an inadequate version that would give no help to middle-income seniors, would rely on private insurers rather than the trusted Medicare program and would be up to the states to implement.

Bush’s administration decided against fixing the massive census undercount of people of color, children and the poor.

Bush scuttled collective bargaining between mechanics and Northwest Airlines.

Bush sided with the mining industry on delaying rules to help workers with black lung disease.