Art of the deal

Donald Trump is an excellent negotiator.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, Trump got involved. He sat down with Carrier leaders. Afterward, he announced that 1,100 jobs would be saved. When I first heard the news, I was optimistic. But I began to get nervous when we couldn’t get any details on the deal. I urged caution, but our members got their hopes up. They thought their jobs had been saved.

When I met with Carrier officials last Thursday, I realized that that wouldn’t be the case. Though Trump said he’d saved 1,100 jobs, he hadn’t. Carrier told us that 550 people would get laid off.

Trump didn’t tell people that, though. When he spoke at our plant, he acted like no one was going to lose their job. People went crazy for him. They thought, because of Trump, I’m going to be able to provide for my family. 

All the while, I’m sitting there, thinking that’s not what the damn numbers say. Trump let people believe that they were going to have a livelihood in that facility. He let people breathe easy. When I told our members the next day, they were devastated.

I was angry, too. So I told a Washington Post reporter the truth — that Trump’s 1,100 number was wrong. When Trump read my comments, he got angry.

Trump used these Carrier employees as a campaign stunt. Then he used them as a post-election photo-op.  Then he kicked them in the teeth.

Today he did it again. 

President-elect Donald J. Trump on Thursday named Andrew F. Puzder, chief executive of the company that operates the fast food outlets Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. and an outspoken critic of the worker protections enacted by the Obama administration, to be secretary of labor.

Mr. Puzder has spent his career in the private sector and has opposed efforts to expand eligibility for overtime pay, while arguing that large minimum wage increases hurt small businesses and lead to job loss among low-skilled workers.

During the campaign, Trump frequently sounded open to raising the minimum wage to $10. This is, of course, unacceptable but it would be more than Puzder would be likely to countenance. In context of the 2016 election, Trump's hollow promise of $10 less than the $15 actual minimum wage workers have been demanding in recent years. It's also less than the shitty $12 (sorta maybe in some states if they really try hard enough) reluctantly endorsed by Hillary Clinton this year.   I wonder who the Hillary people are going to blame for all of this.