Elon Musk, the DOGE Bros, and America may finally get a window into one of the most ignored, yet wholly corrupted bureaucracies: The United States Department of Labor. Despite their best efforts, Big Labor was unsuccessful in blocking DOGE's ability to access department data. On Friday, a district judge rejected their request for a temporary restraining order.  

Order in AFL-CIO v. Department of Labor [challenging DOGE access to DOL data]https://t.co/cORB2EIlSY

— Susie Moore ⚾️🌻🐶 (@SmoosieQ) February 8, 2025

A federal judge on Friday night rejected labor unions’ push to block Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing sensitive data at the Labor Department.

District Judge John Bates, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, said that the groups failed to properly show the standing necessary to win the temporary restraining order they sought against the Department of Government Efficiency, while expressing sympathy for their concerns that the Musk-led effort presents privacy risks.

“This data includes the medical and financial records of millions of Americans,” Bates wrote in a nine-page order. “But on the current record, plaintiffs have failed to establish standing.”

Suppose you're an independent professional, small business, or franchiser. In that case, you already know how much prior administrations prioritized labor unions above all else, as though they are the only legitimate form of employment and industry that matters. The rest of us are just trafficking in hobbies and fantasies. This is reflected in how they assumed they would get a TRO because of "unions" and "civil rights." 

Attorney and writer Margaret Cleveland dissected it well in this X thread.

🚨In denying TRO to unions seeking to prevent DOGE from accessing Department of Labor databases, the Judge actually takes the issue of standing seriously. Standing means the Plaintiff suffers an injury such that the law recognizes he has the right to "stand" before court. 1/

— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) February 8, 2025

In denying TRO to unions seeking to prevent DOGE from accessing Department of Labor databases, the Judge actually takes the issue of standing seriously. Standing means the Plaintiff suffers an injury such that the law recognizes he has the right to "stand" before court. 1/

2/ Here is opinion. If you compare this opinion to the others granting TRO on spending freeze you'll note the judges in those cases just mumbled over the standing analysis--because there was no standing! chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://t.co/1raqWCYSba

— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) February 8, 2025

2/ Here is opinion. If you compare this opinion to the others granting TRO on spending freeze you'll note the judges in those cases just mumbled over the standing analysis--because there was no standing! 

3/3 Doesn't mean it is "over" because Plaintiffs could try to file affidavits that suggest an injury, but by then the review of DOL will be over. This opinion provides a good blueprint for the issue with standing in most of the other cases.

— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) February 8, 2025

3/3 Doesn't mean it is "over" because Plaintiffs could try to file affidavits that suggest an injury, but by then the review of DOL will be over. This opinion provides a good blueprint for the issue with standing in most of the other cases.

So, a DOGE deep-dive into those records could show the hows and the whys behind big labor's assumption that it has total control of this agency, and to what degree the U.S. DOL colludes with them to sacrifice independent professionals, small businesses, and franchisers on the altar of labor interests. 

These are also the people who take 6% of our entire income. Take every labor union worker and multiply it by that 6%. Where does the money go? Workers pay local union dues for a reason and that is acceptable, but the hundreds of billions a year they take in is simply insane.

— Luther Fergus (@TheLutherFergus) February 7, 2025

With the now defunct NLRB Joint Employer Rule, and the U.S. DOL Biden-Harris administration final independent contractor rule on the chopping block, coupled with the confirmation hearings this Wednesday for Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Labor, this agency, which commands an $11 billion dollar budget as of fiscal year 2025, is in desperate need of independent eyes that have no ties to unions or union interests. Chavez-DeRemer's pro-union bent is also well documented, so if she is going to take the reins, exposure before she does would be beneficial. This DOGE sunlight could superintend checks and balances being put into place before she does.

However, the Democrat and big labor tantrum is glorious to behold.

Working people are up against powerful forces trying to silence us, but we know our strength. Fair wages, safe jobs, and a voice at work - this is what’s on the line.pic.twitter.com/o47vj67qxc

— Liz Shuler (@LizShuler) February 6, 2025

The government had argued that the union’s lawsuit was overly reliant on speculation and the claims of a single anonymous agency staffer.

It also had agreed to limit DOGE’s interactions with DOL as a result of the lawsuit, pending Friday’s hearing. But Bates’ ruling clears the way for DOGE to begin examining dozens of Labor Department systems, including those that relate to workers compensation claims, workplace safety investigations and key gauges of the U.S. economy.

For too long the U.S. Department of Labor has been a terrible mechanic allowed to tinker with the engines of the U.S. economy; choosing winners and losers, and always siding with union interests. Many of us would like to know to what degree and how much of our taxpayer dollars help fund the destructive tactics that have been lodged at us for decades.

Finally, our time has come.