What the “Big Beautiful Bill” Means for Working People
Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have pushed through a sweeping bill that promises to “streamline the economy” and “cut red tape.” But behind the catchy slogans and grandstanding, the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” poses serious threats to everyday working people. Across our industries RWDSU members, their families and communities will be impacted.
Although it’s being presented as a victory for businesses, a closer look reveals the bill is packed with provisions that will reduce worker protections, weaken unions, and shift the balance of power even further in favor of corporate interests. Here's what you need to know about the bill, it:
1. Weakens Worker Protections and Labor Rights
Several provisions aim to:
Roll back overtime protections, excluding millions of low-wage salaried workers from time-and-a-half pay.
Limit the ability to organize unions, including restricting union access to workplaces and also fast-track anti-union votes.
Cut enforcement budgets for OSHA and the Department of Labor, reducing oversight of unsafe or unfair working conditions.
3. Provides Tax Breaks for Corporations and the Wealthy
While pitched as economic stimulus, the bill further shifts the tax burden onto working and middle-class Americans, while widening the wealth gap. Working Americans will see few–if any–benefits:
Permanent tax cuts for large corporations and high-income earners
Reductions in IRS enforcement that benefit tax avoidance by the rich
3. Cuts Key Programs
The bill includes steep cuts or caps on funding for programs that workers and their families rely on, including:
Housing assistance: Reductions in HUD funding will exacerbate the affordable housing crisis for working families.
Medicaid: Cuts to Medicaid expansion will leave many without access to healthcare, especially in states that already opted out of expansion.
4. Rolls Back Consumer and Worker Safety Regulations
The bill eliminates or delays enforcement of key federal rules, which will endanger workers and consumers alike – particularly those in high-risk jobs like meatpacking, agriculture, or warehouse work, such as:
Food and drug safety standards
Worker safety rules around chemicals, heat exposure, and injury reporting
Fair scheduling laws and wage transparency requirements
Here’s a breakdown of some key numbers. The bill will:
Rip health care away from 17 million people and eliminates 600,000 care jobs, forcing over 300 rural hospitals to close their doors.
Spike health care costs for people with employment-based insurance by nearly $500 per person per year and nearly $2,000 annually for a family of four.
Slash food assistance for nearly 3 million Americans, and slashes at least 140,000 jobs in food processing facilities, school cafeterias, grocery stores, and farms by cutting billions in funding.
Threaten an estimated 1.75 million construction jobs and over 3 billion work hours, which translates to $148 billion in lost annual wages and benefits.
Add $155 billion in funding to target immigrant workers, removing workers who have in many cases come here legally, only adding stress on our members left behind with unimaginable overtime and endless six and seven day workweeks.
What This Means for RWDSU Members
For RWDSU members and millions of workers across the country, this bill is a direct threat to the progress we’ve made through organizing and collective bargaining. It will undo hard-won gains in job security, fair treatment, and dignity at work. And it’s especially dangerous for workers in industries already facing low wages, high turnover, and unsafe conditions.
Now Is the Time to Stand Together
This is not just about politics, it’s about people. It’s about protecting the basic right of working people to stand together, speak out, and demand fair treatment. No matter how polished the branding, the “Big Beautiful Bill” is an attack on the working class.
RWDSU will continue to fight for policies that lift workers up – not push them down. We believe in a future where working people have real power, real protections, and real opportunity. And we won’t stop fighting until that future is a reality.