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Trump Took on Federal Unions. Now States Must Act.

Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

John Tillman is a political strategist and CEO of Hall of Giants.

Tuesday night, President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address of his second term. He touted his accomplishments: securing the border, negotiating better trade deals, restoring American prosperity. But in all the post-speech analysis, one fight got almost no attention—and it’s the one that could determine whether everything else he accomplished will last.

Federal employee unions have spent decades protecting incompetent workers, blocking reforms, and making government bloated and unaccountable. They don’t serve the American people. Rather, they serve themselves, and taxpayers pay the price.

Every president complained.

Last year, he eliminated collective bargaining rights for over one million federal workers—including the unions that prioritized protecting bad Department of Veterans Affairs employees over caring for our veterans.

Federal unions sued immediately. They promised crushing political consequences.

This president didn’t blink. 

This wasn’t about punishing workers. It was about breaking political machines that protect incompetence, punish excellence, and stick American taxpayers with the bill.

Sure enough, federal appeals courts sided with Trump. The unions lost.

But here’s what conservatives need to understand: federal unions represent roughly one million workers. State and local government unions? Over seven million. And while Trump tenaciously battles federal unions in Washington, public employee unions are winning in the states—right now—because conservatives aren’t fighting back. And state and local unions are even better at the game than their federal counterparts.

In “The Political Vise,” my forthcoming book, I describe how this works in  Illinois.

A single union lobbyist has 35,000 active members behind him. Every legislator knows it. That lobbyist doesn’t negotiate. He tells them what he wants, and the legislators obediently deliver.

The numbers tell the story. The average state government worker in Illinois earns $66,000. The average private sector worker earns just over half that: $34,196. Public sector unions didn’t just negotiate better deals for their members. They’ve literally bankrupted cities, states, and school districts across the nation while enriching their members at the expense of taxpayers.

If federal unions are powerful, state and local unions believe themselves unstoppable. They operate in every state capitol, every city hall, every school board. They fund the campaigns of the very people they then sit across from at the negotiating table.

Government union contributions go 91% to Democrats, 9% to Republicans.

How do they wield this power? Massive campaign donations. Reliable votes. And in close elections, a small army of dedicated foot soldiers eager to ensure they don’t lose their generous benefits.

While Trump fights in Washington, here’s what’s happening in the states:

In Chicago, 48% of retired teachers collect over $72,000 a year in pension benefits. The average Illinois private sector worker makes $70,000—while still working. Chicago teachers can retire at 55 with 75% of their final salary for life, with 3% annual increases compounded forever. A private sector worker grinds until nearly 70 years old for Social Security that replaces (at best) 40% of their income.

That’s not a pension gap. That’s a different universe.

Illinois has $139 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. The system is 44% funded. Financial experts say healthy pensions should be at least 80% funded.

But the unions keep demanding more.

This is the pattern everywhere conservatives aren’t fighting. Unions pressure. Governors cave. Ordinary, middle-class families get crushed.

Trump dared to challenge federal unions with executive action. State and local unions operate under state laws and constitutional protections that no president can touch. The president proved these unions can be challenged. He’s winning in court. The power everyone said was untouchable is cracking.

But if conservatives declare victory and ignore the far larger threat in every state capitol and city hall, we’ll celebrate one battle while the Left wins the war.

Republican governors must follow Trump’s lead. Republicans control more than half the states in this country. That’s 26 governors with the power to act. How many are using it? A handful at most. The rest talk fiscal responsibility while signing contracts that lock in unsustainable, budget-busting compensation.

State legislators must reform collective bargaining laws.

Wisconsin did it under former Gov. Scott Walker. Florida did it under Gov. Ron DeSantis. Though the unions tried to recall Walker, and they tried to destroy DeSantis politically, both governors stood firm. Both states saved billions.

Trump is now doing at the federal level what Walker and DeSantis proved could work at the state level. More must follow them.

Conservatives must run for school boards, city councils, and county commissions with the explicit goal of pushing back on union demands. This is where the real money gets spent—and where nobody’s watching.

The fight can’t stop after one election cycle. Unions are patient. They outlast governors. They wait out reforms. They come back stronger unless the institutional changes are permanent. As bold as they were, Trump’s executive orders can be reversed by the next president. That’s why state-level reforms—actual changes to collective bargaining laws–matter more than any single executive action.

Public sector unions are masters at operating a machine too few conservatives understand. They pressure politicians through campaign contributions, coordinate with friendly media, and fund radical left-wing activists. In The Political Vise(RealClear Publishing, March 3), I explain how they inverted the Founders’ system—and what it will take to reclaim it.

Tuesday night’s applause was earned, and it was deserved. But the battle Trump started against federal unions—and the fight conservatives must finish in every state—will determine whether the prosperity and security the president is fighting to restore will endure.

We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.

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