From Barbecue to Betrayal: As America Celebrates Labor, Trump Abuses It This Labor Day reminds us who built this nation — and who is trying to dismantle it, one worker, one right, one freedom at a time. Lev Parnas Sep 1 The first Monday of September has always carried with it the smell of barbecue smoke and the sound of laughter echoing from backyards. Families gather. Neighbors share food. Children run free, savoring the last sweetness of summer. On the surface, it feels like the most American of holidays—simple, unpretentious, rooted in community. But Labor Day is more than an extra day off. It was born from struggle. It is the victory of the worker over exploitation, the recognition that this nation was built not by the privileged few, but by the many hands that laid bricks, forged steel, and stitched fabric in factories. It is the day America honors the dignity of work. The eight-hour day, the weekend, safer workplaces—none of it was given. It was demanded, fought for, and won by ordinary men and women who believed their sweat was worth something more than scraps from the tables of the rich. Labor Day is our inheritance from them, and our responsibility to carry forward. And yet, as we gather today in celebration, we must also confront a darker truth. Because while this day honors labor, Donald Trump has spent his life abusing it. He stands as the embodiment of everything Labor Day was meant to guard against. From the earliest days of his empire, Trump treated workers as disposable. The story of Trump Tower is not one of triumph, but of exploitation. Hundreds of undocumented Polish workers were brought in to tear down the old Bonwit Teller building. They labored twelve-hour shifts without helmets or safety gear, slept on cots, and earned as little as four dollars an hour. When the work was done, Trump refused to pay them until a court forced his hand years later. That is not leadership. That is theft, wrapped in gold-plated arrogance. And the pattern never stopped. Contractors, small businesses, and laborers—plumbers, electricians, dishwashers, painters—found themselves cheated, dragged into court, or simply left with nothing. For Trump, labor was never something to respect. It was something to exploit. When he took office, the abuse scaled up from individuals to entire systems. His administration stacked the Department of Labor with executives who opposed raising the minimum wage and fought against worker protections. Safety regulations were stripped away. Unions that represented millions of public servants were undermined. Federal workers had their contracts voided, their protections gutted, their voices silenced. It is a government not of the people, but of the corporations—written by the bosses, for the bosses. And then came the tariffs. Trump’s trade wars were sold as “America First,” but the pain fell hardest on American workers and farmers. Soybean exports collapsed as China retaliated. Family farms, already fighting rising costs and climate disasters, found themselves abandoned. So here we are, on Labor Day—celebrating the very thing Trump has always betrayed. This holiday is about solidarity, about workers standing shoulder to shoulder to demand dignity. Trump’s legacy is division—pitting workers against one another, blaming immigrants, feeding resentment while he siphoned wealth upward. Labor Day is a reminder of progress. Trump is a reminder of regression. Labor Day honors the dignity of every worker. Trump is the negation of that dignity. And this matters not only in memory, but in the present. Because Trump is not done. His blueprint, Project 2025, is not just an assault on democracy—it’s an assault on labor. It seeks to dismantle protections, empower corporations, and erase the very rights that generations of workers bled for. So as we celebrate today, as we stand with our families, grill burgers, and share laughter, let us also remain vigilant. Let us remember that the story of labor is not just in the past. It is unfolding now, in real time, and the outcome depends on us. So let’s take today, Labor Day, to thank all the workers, the unions, the volunteers, the neighbors who never stop showing up. Let’s celebrate them, let’s honor them — but let’s also remember that now more than ever, we must stay vigilant. Trump and his allies are pushing Project 2025, a plan designed to dismantle our rights, our Constitution, and our democracy. We cannot afford to let up. We must band together. We must stand strong. And that’s why I’m asking you — bring 3 or 4 more people to this platform, invite your friends and family, spread this message far and wide. Join the movement. Join the resistance. Join the family that we’re building here together. With your help, I can continue to speak truth to power. If you believe in this fight, if you believe in the work we’re doing here, I ask you to become a paid subscriber, to contribute, and to stand with me. You can support through Venmo - @lev-parnas PayPal - @levparnas Zelle - thereallevparnas@gmail.com. Every contribution helps me continue this work, day in and day out. And if you haven’t yet, make sure to pick up your copy of Shadow Diplomacy at LevRemembers.com — the book Donald Trump doesn’t want you to read, the inside playbook of how he operates in the shadows. Together we will keep telling the truth. Together we will protect our democracy. Together we will win. Happy Labor Day -Lev Parnas