Biden’s Acting Labor Secretary of almost two years, Julie Su, will soon leave her post, and incoming second-term Trump has thrown a curveball with his replacement nominee. That’s especially the case compared to his last pick, Eugene Scalia, who rolled back regulations and favored employer-friendly stances. Still, neither business advocates nor Big Labor have fully agreed on Trump’s new nominee.
Who is Lori Chavez-DeRemer? She’s a single-term U.S. congresswoman who just lost her reelection bid. She’s the daughter of a Teamster member and one of the only GOP legislators to co-sponsor the in-limbo PRO Act, which aims to make unionization easier. She also recently co-introduced the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which addresses local and state government workers’ organizing rights. What else?
She has a fan in the Teamsters President: Sean O’Brien’s increasingly cozy relationship with Trump didn’t result in an endorsement, but O’Brien spoke at the RNC and called Trump “a tough SOB.” That’s a compliment from O’Brien because that’s what he calls himself, and indeed, he climbed into Trump’s ear to sing praises for Chavez-DeRemer.
The Teamsters are “ready to work with (Chavez-DeRemer) every step of the way to expand good union jobs.” O’Brien also praised Trump for “pledg[ing] to listen to workers and find common ground to protect and respect labor in America.” Then came the kicker: “You put words into action. Now let’s grow wages and improve working conditions nationwide.”
Trump on Chavez-DeRemer: “I look forward to working with [Lori] to create tremendous opportunity for American Workers,” he stated. “[T]o expand Training and Apprenticeships, to grow wages and improve working conditions, to bring back our Manufacturing jobs.”
Mixed union reactions: Chavez-DeRemer has received praise from CWA, NEA, NALC, and AFT. However, the AFL-CIO echoed the National Employment Law Project, which expressed suspicions of Trump using this nomination “to project an image of a labor-friendly administration.”
Business-friendly associations also seem skeptical of Chavez-DeRemer. International Franchise Association President Matt Haller called upon her to condemn the PRO Act, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute admitted, “While it is hard to predict what (Chavez-DeRemer) would do as a cabinet member, what we do know is not encouraging.”
Grassroots advocates speaking out on behalf of independent contractors are highly discouraged by the new Trump nominee.
Is this nomination simply a Teamsters back scratch? Trump could simply be appeasing his pal Sean O’Brien and blue-collar union members who voted for him without actually intending for Chavez-DeRemer to have any meaningful effect on his second-term policies.
As Labor Secretary, Chavez-DeRemer would lead the department that administers federal laws on overtime pay, minimum wage, unemployment insurance, and employment discrimination. However, the NLRB is also involved in rulemaking, so if Trump stacks the NLRB with business-friendly appointees, then Chavez-DeRemer’s position could largely be symbolic.
It’s too early to predict whether Republican senators will vote to confirm Chavez-DeRemer. Still, she has received tentative support from Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who co-authored the PRO Act. It's not that Senate confirmation is necessary to hold the gig; look at Julie Su.
