Trump Cuts Imperil the Well-Being of People Nationwide 

On January 27, 2025, President Trump announced funding freezes for hundreds of federal programs that serve people across the country. While the freeze was halted within 24 hours, the very real threat of cuts remains. CLASP’s statement on the freeze highlighted the harm the announcement created and the perilous future of many vital programs.

EEOC, NLRB Firings Plus Federal Buyouts Will Harm Workers and Our Economy  

Also last week, CLASP released a statement on the firing of two members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the general counsel and chair of the National Labor Relations Board. As Lorena Roque, interim director of Education, Labor, and Worker Justice, said, these actions “are an ominous sign, particularly for the enforcement of labor laws, the rights of workers to form unions, and for people of color and women facing discrimination.” 

Threats to the Department of Education: Private Equity Replacing Public Funding 

Christian Collins’s timely new brief explores the threat the Trump Administration poses to the Department of Education and its potential impact on postsecondary funding; the possibility that postsecondary schools will look to private equity to make up funding shortfalls; and steps that institutions and policymakers can take to protect the postsecondary system.

Celebrating Black History Month and Recognizing African Americans and Labor  

February is Black History Month, and the 2025 theme is “African Americans and Labor.” As the Trump Administration consistently dismisses and devalues the contributions of Black people to the workforce, it is more essential than ever to acknowledge the myriad ways that Black labor has built, enriched, and advanced the United States.

One way that CLASP is doing this is through our Black History Month blog series. Christian Collins has written the first blog, “The Entitlement to Black Labor Often Comes at the Cost of Black Humanity,” which explores the history of Black labor and highlights four individuals whose lives deserve wide recognition. 

Protecting Sensitive Locations Act  

The administration’s recent decision to rescind the Protected Areas policy has robbed millions of families of a sense of security in places they access every day. The Protecting Sensitive Locations Act would codify this longstanding policy so that future administrations cannot disregard the protections that safely allow workers and families to go to school and work, access health care, and contribute to their communities. 

In the new fact sheet “The Earned Income Tax Credit Should be Expanded for Workers Without Children,” Ashley Burnside highlights the ways that millions of workers would benefit from a permanent expansion of the EITC.