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The President Said, and It Sure Would Be a Shame…

Writer's picture: john raymondjohn raymond

We all know how this game is played. The president doesn’t have to issue an explicit order—he just has to imply the consequences, just wink at the enforcers, just make it clear that he expects a certain outcome.


And so, late at night on January 31, the White House doesn’t issue an executive order—that would be too obvious, too open to legal challenge. Instead, it sends a memo. A quiet suggestion. A bureaucratic threat just subtle enough to maintain deniability.


“Limiting Lame-Duck Collective Bargaining Agreements That Improperly Attempt to Constrain the New President.”


That’s the title of the memo, but we all know what it actually means.


1. The Mafia Don's Favorite Tactic: The Quiet Threat

We’ve heard this one before.


The president didn’t say to revoke CBAs. He just implied that agencies shouldn’t enter into agreements that “improperly constrain” him.


He didn’t order agencies to break contracts. He just suggested that they “reject” agreements currently under review.


He didn’t tell agencies to crush unions. But he made sure that anyone who wanted to stay in his good graces knew exactly what to do.


This is how power works when the letter of the law is inconvenient but the intent is obvious.


This is the authoritarian’s favorite trick.


2. “It Would Be a Shame If Something Happened to That CBA…”

This memo has no legal authority. It does not override contracts that have already been approved.


And yet, the message is clear.


This is the White House laying the groundwork for an attack on collective bargaining, just passive-aggressive enough to maintain plausible deniability.


It is a dry run for future union-busting, testing whether agencies will roll over, whether unions will fight back, whether anyone will actually stand up to the implied threat.

Because that’s the game:

  • Make the threat vague enough to avoid legal consequences.

  • Wait to see who voluntarily bends the knee.

  • If no one pushes back, escalate.


This memo is not about limiting lame-duck agreements.It is about seeing how much control the administration can exert over unions without issuing a direct order.

And if they get away with this, they will do it again.


3. The Only Answer: Call the Bluff & Play Offense

PASS has made its position clear:


🔥 The memo does not override CBAs that are already in place.🔥 The FAA has not indicated that it will follow the memo’s suggestions.🔥 If CBAs are challenged, they will be defended—vigorously.


This is exactly how it should be handled. Because the real game is not reacting to the threat—it is forcing them to escalate.

  • If they want to break contracts, let them be the ones to argue it in court.

  • If they want to gut unions, let them do it in public, not through cowardly memos.

  • If they want to make enemies of workers, let them own that decision.


Because here’s the thing: if the White House was certain it could win this fight, it wouldn’t be playing games with memos.


They aren’t confident—they are testing the waters.


So the answer is simple: don’t give an inch.

4. We Knew This Was Coming, So We Gear Up Now

This is the opening shot, not the final battle.


Unions already knew that Trump’s second term would be defined by corporate power consolidating itself over labor.


We already knew that anti-union forces would come for CBAs, collective action, and labor protections.


We already knew that Trump’s return meant one thing above all: an effort to roll back every worker gain of the past century.


So, we gear up.

  • We prepare for court fights, because they are coming.

  • We strengthen internal networks, because retaliation is coming.

  • We mobilize workers now, before it escalates further.


If this memo was meant to scare unions into submission, it failed.

Because now, everyone knows exactly what to prepare for. And the best way to answer a veiled threat?


Call it what it is. And then fight like hell.


 

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