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AFL-CIO Secy-Treasurer Fred Redmond: Black Workers Being ‘Played’ by Trump’s Economic Games

By Stacy M. Brown Black Press USA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Fred Redmond, the highest-ranking African American in the history of the American labor movement, is sounding the alarm on what he calls a full-scale assault on Black workers under President Donald Trump’s second term. “Black unemployment has now surged—more than double the national […]

Published

6 months ago

August 7, 2025

Stacy Brown

By Stacy M. Brown

Black Press USA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Fred Redmond, the highest-ranking African American in the history of the American labor movement, is sounding the alarm on what he calls a full-scale assault on Black workers under President Donald Trump’s second term.

“Black unemployment has now surged—more than double the national average,” Redmond told Black Press USA. “For Black women in particular, it’s reached its highest level since 2021, and that’s likely to grow.”

Today, Redmond’s first op-ed for BlackPressUSA.com as a new regular contributor was published: “Trump Didn’t Just Fail to Protect Black Jobs. He’s Leading Us to Black Unemployment.”

Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, also spoke today at the A. Philip Randolph Institute’s annual convention in Chicago, where he said the energy of the gathering has fueled his commitment to fight back against what he described as reckless and dangerous policies targeting the working class—especially African Americans.

He directly blamed Trump’s continued attacks on federal agencies, noting that government work historically provided a path to the middle class for African Americans, especially Black women. “The attack on federal agencies has really damaged the Black community—with particular emphasis on Black women,” Redmond said, pointing to job losses at HUD, VA hospitals, and other critical institutions.

As for the president’s abrupt firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner, Redmond didn’t mince words. “Numbers don’t lie. This is typical Donald Trump. You don’t like the numbers, so you fire the person who presents the numbers—as opposed to digging into the cause,” Redmond stated.

“The president shot the messenger. He’s trying to justify a failed month of economic policies that aren’t working for average Americans—particularly Black and brown communities who still live under the old paradigm: last hired, first fired.”

Redmond warned that the BLS—used by the labor movement and business community alike—relies on a decades-long methodology to analyze the workforce. If Trump installs someone who manipulates those figures to fit his narrative, Redmond warned, “that could throw the country into a very precarious situation with devastating consequences.”

He said the Trump administration is playing a dangerous game with tariffs, creating widespread uncertainty. “Black men aren’t seeing layoffs reported in manufacturing, but unemployment is at a standstill because companies are refusing to invest in equipment and modernization. They’re reducing shifts and capacity,” he explained.

Redmond pointed out that during the Great Migration, Black workers—particularly women—found economic mobility in manufacturing and government jobs. But with Trump’s unstrategic tariffs and budget-slashing, that pathway is disappearing. “He says we’re saving money through tariffs, but it’s not reflected in the stats or the jobs numbers,” Redmond said. “He’s playing games with people’s lives.”

Redmond made clear the labor movement doesn’t oppose tariffs outright, but they must be applied strategically. “When you just blanketly place tariffs on every good and commodity, that money is paid by the consumer. Corporations aren’t going to eat that cost. That’s a misnomer,” he said. “This is reckless, and it’s going to cost the American public dearly.”

The AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer also emphasized the historic role and ongoing work of the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI), where he serves as board chair. “Mr. Randolph’s vision was a Black-labor alliance. He believed organized labor’s priorities should reflect those of the Black community—good jobs, retirement security, decent pay, and healthcare,” Redmond said. “He knew that collective bargaining built the Black middle class.”

He praised the leadership of Clayola Brown, APRI President, and noted that its 120-plus chapters are on the ground organizing in Black communities across the country.

And Redmond isn’t just talking—he’s on the move. “We’ve got buses rolling across the country. Last week in Chicago, we stood with workers forced to work under horrendous conditions. We’re headed to Cleveland and Columbus, mobilizing for 2026,” he said.

He added, “Our goal is to make Hakeem Jeffries Speaker of the House, fight for democracy, and rebuild the social contract—by working people, for working people. We must stop this tyranny and stop this president from building an economy for billionaires by billionaires.”

Redmond, who has led the AFL-CIO’s racial justice initiatives and helped shape national labor policy for decades, said he’s working on an op-ed to further expose the administration’s economic failings.

“I’ve spent my entire life fighting for racial justice in the workplace and throughout our communities,” Redmond said. “We’re going to keep fighting—because the stakes have never been higher.”

Stacy Brown

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LIVE from the NMA Convention Raheem DeVaughn Says The Time Is Now: Let’s End HIV in Our Communities #2

Set against the backdrop of the NMA conference, Executive Officers from the National Medical Association, Grammy Award Winning Artist and Advocate Raheem DeVaughn, and Gilead Sciences experts, are holding today an important conversation on HIV prevention and health equity. Black women continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV despite advances in prevention options. Today’s event […]

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Black women continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV despite advances in prevention options. Today’s event is designed to uplift voices, explore barriers to access, and increase awareness and key updates about PrEP, a proven prevention method that remains underutilized among Black women. This timely gathering will feature voices from across health, media, and advocacy as we break stigma and center equity in HIV prevention.

Additional stats and information to know:

● Black women continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV, with Black women representing more than 50% of new HIV diagnoses among women in the U.S. in 2022, despite comprising just 13% of women in the U.S.

● Women made up only 8% of PrEP users despite representing 19% of all new HIV diagnoses in 2022.

● Gilead Sciences is increasing awareness and addressing stigma by encouraging regular HIV testing and having judgment-free conversations with your healthcare provider about prevention options, including oral PrEP and long-acting injectable PrEP options.

● PrEP is an HIV prevention medication that has been available since 2012.

● Only 1 in 3 people in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP were prescribed a form of PrEP in 2022.

Oakland Post

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TRUMP: “Washington, D.C. is Safe”

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — President Trump, who typically travels with a full contingent of high-level protection, insinuated that he finally felt safe enough to go to dinner in the District of Columbia. “My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years,” said the nation’s 47th president.

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By Apriil Ryan
BlackPressUSA Washington Bureau Chief and White House Correspondent

“Washington, D.C. is safe,” President Trump declared from the Oval Office today. Those words came while Trump was hosting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the question-and-answer session, which primarily focused on a peace deal in the Russian-Ukrainian war, Trump explained, “You did that in four days.” He was speaking of how fast the National Guard quelled the violence in what was once called Chocolate City.

The President deployed the National Guard to D.C. a week ago, to a city with reduced crime rates over the previous year. Violent crime dropped by 26%, marking the lowest level in 30 years. Homicides also fell by 11%.

President Trump, who typically travels with a full contingent of high-level protection, insinuated that he finally felt safe enough to go to dinner in the District of Columbia. “My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years,” said the nation’s 47th president.

Trump reinforced his claim about the newly acquired safety in D.C. by relaying that a friend’s son is attending dinner in D.C., something he would not have done last year.

After the president finished his comments, a reporter/commentator in the room with close connections to Marjorie Taylor Greene jumped into the high-level conversation to affirm the president’s comments, saying, “I walked around yesterday with MTG. If you can walk around D.C. with MTG and not be attacked, this city is safe.”

That reporter was the same person who chastised President Zelenskyy months ago during his first Oval Office meeting with Trump for not wearing a business suit. Zelenskyy, a wartime President, has been clad in less formal attire to reflect the country’s current war stance against Russia.

Without any sourcing, President Trump also said, “People that haven’t gone out to dinner in Washington, D.C., in two years are going out to dinner, and the restaurants the last two days have been busier than they’ve been in a long time.”

The increase in policing in Washington, D.C. is because a 19-year-old former Doge employee was carjacked in the early hours of the morning recently.

Oakland Post

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Rising Energy Costs Weigh Heaviest on Black Households

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — For many African American families, the cost of keeping the lights on and homes heated or cooled is not just a monthly bill — it’s a crushing financial burden.

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

For many African American families, the cost of keeping the lights on and homes heated or cooled is not just a monthly bill — it’s a crushing financial burden.

A new national study from Binghamton University and California State University, San Bernardino, finds that Black households spend a far larger share of their income on energy compared to white households, even when income levels are the same. “We often say that African Americans suffer more, but we often blame it just on income. And the reality is, there is something more there,” study author George Homsy, associate professor at Binghamton University, wrote. “It’s not just because they tend to be poor. There is something that’s putting them at a disadvantage. I think what happened is it happens to be where they live.” The study, published in Energy Research & Social Science, analyzed 65,000 census tracts across the United States. It found that while the average American household spends about 3.2% of income on energy bills, households in the majority African American census tracts spend an average of 5.1%.

Homsy and researcher Ki Eun Kang point to the age and condition of housing stock, along with lower homeownership rates, as key drivers. Their research concludes that “energy burden is not simply a matter of income or energy cost but also race, which might be driven by place.” Older, less energy-efficient housing and high rental rates in Black communities mean residents often cannot make upgrades like improved insulation or new appliances, locking families into higher bills.

Tradeoffs and Health Risks

The consequences go beyond money. Families forced to spend 10% or more of their income on energy — what experts classify as “unmanageable” — may cut back on food, medicine, or other essentials. More than 12 million U.S. households report leaving their homes at unsafe temperatures to reduce costs, while millions more fall behind on utility bills. The health effects are severe. High energy burdens increase risks of asthma, depression, poor sleep, pneumonia, and even premature death. The issue is especially acute for African Americans, who are disproportionately exposed to housing and environmental conditions that amplify these risks.

Washington, D.C.: A Case Study

In Washington, D.C., the problem is particularly stark. A recent analysis by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) shows that SNAP-eligible households spend more than 20% of their income on energy bills. Across the metro area, nearly two-thirds of low-income households devote over 6% of their income to energy, and 40% face what researchers call a “severe financial strain,” paying more than 10%. Pepco, the District’s primary electricity provider, has implemented three consecutive annual rate hikes, pushing the average household bill to $114 per month as of January 2025. Shutoffs have followed — nearly 12,000 customers lost service in 2024, with disconnections doubling after a summer rate hike. Washington Gas has also sought a 12% rate increase and pushed a controversial $215 million pipeline replacement project, rebranded as “District SAFE.” The plan could ultimately cost D.C. households an additional $45,000 each over several decades, or nearly $1,000 annually added to bills.

Historical Roots

Researchers argue that these inequities are not accidental but rooted in history. The ScienceDirect study reveals that African American communities living in formerly redlined neighborhoods continue to face disadvantages today — from poor housing quality to higher climate risks. Homsy says policymakers must make targeted efforts. “It is harder to get to rental units where a lot of poor people live,” he noted. “We need to work harder to get into these communities of color.”