Like a dystopian screensaver no one asked for, a federal employee spent their Labor Day staring out of the Department of Labor building, only to be greeted by the looming face of Donald J. Trump, plastered across the glass.
The massive banner stretches three stories tall, featuring Trump’s official second inaugural portrait, the slogan “American Workers First,” and the America 250 logo. Flanking him: an American flag and Teddy Roosevelt’s mug, also stamped with the same motto, because nothing says “workers first” like dead presidents and union-busting.
The anonymous staffer who shared the photo summed it up with a caption straight out of George Orwell’s nightmares:
“Photo passed along from a federal employee from inside the Dept of Labor building, where a giant Orwellian image of Trump’s face is now draped outside. Big Brother is watching.”
Right on time for all the Halloween vibes, here’s the post to give you nightmares:
The haunting vibe? Somewhere between a Soviet parade poster and Rockwell’s 1983 classic Somebody’s Watching Me — only this remix comes with union crackdowns and OSHA rollbacks.
And for those who snoozed through American Lit–don’t worry, I got you: Orwell’s 1984 describes a totalitarian state where citizens live under constant surveillance by a dear leader known only as “Big Brother.” Translation: if your Caesar salad comes with a side of state surveillance, that’s not croutons — that’s fascism, all supersized and spray-tanned.
Labor leaders didn’t miss the irony. AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler snapped back:
“Tearing up union contracts, taking Medicaid and SNAP away from millions of workers and gutting essential services is not putting ‘American workers first’ — it’s protecting billionaires and greedy corporate CEOs while leaving working families increasingly vulnerable.”
Nothing says “Labor Day vibes” like gutting labor protections.
Critics argue that Trump’s display is straight from the playbook of authoritarian leaders who love decorating government buildings with their own faces. Stalin, Mao, Kim Jong Un—now Trump’s trying his hand at the aesthetic. Congressman Jim McGovern even chimed in with his own warning post.
You can view the post below:
And just in case there was any confusion, Trump has always flirted openly with the “d-word.”
In response to criticism about siccing the National Guard on DC citizens, the orange king proclaimed almost proudly:
"They say, 'He's a dictator, he's a dictator.' A lot of people are saying, 'Maybe we like a dictator.' I don't like a dictator; I'm not a dictator. I'm a man with great common sense, and I'm a smart person."
So, he’s giving Diet Dictator? Same authoritarian taste, fewer checks and balances. Yikes!
Meanwhile, the administration has been busy eroding labor protections at breakneck speed.
Since January, roughly one million federal employees—four out of five workers with union contracts—have seen those rights stripped away. Agencies, including those from the Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services departments, have rescinded agreements, reclaimed office space, and silenced union representatives.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich pointed out the bigger picture:
“Trump's Labor Department is aiming to rewrite or repeal 60+ worker protections, including: Minimum wage for home health care workers, Rules that improve construction & mine safety, OSHA's ability to punish employers for unsafe workplaces. The ‘pro-worker’ president.”
For the average worker, that doesn’t mean some abstract policy fight in Washington—it means your grandmother’s home health aide could suddenly be earning less than a teenager at Starbucks. It means construction crews might find themselves using equipment with fewer safety checks or miners heading underground with fewer protections when their bosses cut corners.
And if your employer decides to turn your office into a biohazard zone, OSHA might not even have the power to fine them.
In other words: less “American Workers First” and more “good luck out there, don’t die.”
And of course, the internet had thoughts:
That “pro-worker” push also includes proposals to eliminate overtime and minimum wage protections for millions of home health care workers, weaken construction and mining safety rules, and cut protections for migrant farmworkers in the H-2A visa program. The White House refers to it as “efficiency.” Worker advocates see it as the biggest union-busting effort in modern history.
Maybe it’s a one-off stunt, perhaps it’s the pilot episode of Extreme Authoritarian Home Makeover. Either way, nothing screams dictatorship-lite like asking federal employees to salute their timesheets under a giant orange mugshot, I mean, headshot.
