And the protections that remain? They’re barely enforced. As of November 2024, Missouri had just one wage and hour investigator for the entire state. Those in power aren’t just blocking new rights, they’re gutting the systems meant to uphold existing ones.

Repealing paid sick leave and higher wages strips workers of the income and time off they need to care for themselves and their families. It’s a direct attack on people’s health, stability and dignity.

One lawmaker said this about voters:

“Of course the people voted for it. It’d be like asking your teenager if he wanted a checkbook. You know, they’re going to vote for it every time.”

That’s what they think about working people and democracy itself.

This isn’t just anti-worker, it’s anti-democratic. The people of Missouri spoke directly at the ballot box. They voted for basic fairness on the job. And lawmakers turned around and erased it with open contempt for the very people they supposedly represent.

And the protections that remain? They’re barely enforced. As of November 2024, Missouri had just one wage and hour investigator for the entire state. Those in power aren’t just blocking new rights, they’re gutting the systems meant to uphold existing ones.

Repealing paid sick leave and higher wages strips workers of the income and time off they need to care for themselves and their families. It’s a direct attack on people’s health, stability and dignity.

One lawmaker said this about voters:

“Of course the people voted for it. It’d be like asking your teenager if he wanted a checkbook. You know, they’re going to vote for it every time.”

That’s what they think about working people and democracy itself.

This isn’t just anti-worker, it’s anti-democratic. The people of Missouri spoke directly at the ballot box. They voted for basic fairness on the job. And lawmakers turned around and erased it with open contempt for the very people they supposedly represent.

Judge ruled that the governor is prohibited from directing DLSS staff to turn over personal information to federal authorities. Win for workers & for the principle that labor agencies serve the public, not immigration enforcement or political superiors. Thank you Colorado Labor and Scott Moss.

Despite pressure from Colorado’s governor, Scott Moss and his team upheld both the law and their mission: ensuring workers, regardless of immigration status, are safe to come forward about wage theft and exploitation. Moss even filed a whistleblower lawsuit to stop the disclosure

When ICE issued a subpoena seeking employment records of 35 sponsors of unaccompanied minors, DLSS refused to betray workers’ trust or violate Colorado law that bars state officials from sharing personal information with ICE unless it’s part of a criminal investigation.

5/ In sum: mass deportations won’t fix job degradation. If WHD and its state counterparts had the funding and tools to keep up with a growing workforce and widespread violations, millions of workers would benefit.

4/ WHD investigators are unevenly employed throughout the 50 states. In Delaware, Montana, Vermont, and Wyoming, WHD investigators must travel from out of state for investigations, as not a single WHD investigator lives within state lines.

3/ Despite the inadequate size of its staff, WHD recovered $273M in back wages & damages for nearly 152K workers in 2024. If the federal budget funded WHD operations on the scale it does immigration enforcement, the agency could recover more than $4 billion for workers each year.

2/ Between 1939-2025, the ratio of investigators at the Wage & Hour Division went from 1 per 18k workers... to 1 per 278k workers. Just 611 WHD investigators today cover 165M US workers. It’s impossible for the federal government to effectively enforce W&H protections like this!

5/ The crisis is here. The response must be just as urgent. This isn't just about immigration. It’s about the future of democracy in the U.S. If we don’t act now, we know where this road leads.

4/ This is not a hypothetical. The infrastructure for American fascism is being built right now. The question is: How will we fight back? What happens when a government openly disregards the judiciary, due process, and constitutional rights?

3/ And this won’t stop here. We’ve already seen the administration disregard the constitutional rights of legal permanent residents (LPR), as in the case of Mahmoud Khalil. If they’ll ignore LPR rights, what’s stopping them from targeting citizens next?
action.aclu.org/send-message...

2/ This isn’t just cruelty—it’s lawlessness. The administration is openly defying judicial rulings. The constitutional crisis isn’t coming. It’s here. The rule of law is under attack on multiple fronts.