Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where Payday is receiving late Friday night texts from people in the labor movement about how to make sense of the appointment of Congresswoman Lori Michelle Chavez--DeRemer as Labor Secretary.
Trump Appoints GOP Congresswoman, Who Backed the PRO Act
Late tonite, the Trump Administration announced that they will appoint one-term Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Secretary of Labor.
The move surprised many as Chavez-DeRemer was one of the moderate members of the Republican Party in the House and previously supported the PRO Act. However, Chavez-DeRemer had a 10% rating by the AFL-CIO.
Many have accused Chavez-DeRemer of opportunism in previously backing the PRO Act.
She was first elected in 2022 in an Eastern Oregon district that had a 2% Democratic voter registration.
Her defeat came following a nasty 2022 primary where progressive challenger Jamie McLeod-Skinner defeated 7-term Blue Dog Democrat Kurt Schrader in a primary. Later, Schrader would refuse to endorse McLeod-Skinner who would lose to Chavez-DeRemer by a margin of 7,000 votes.
With Unions at 70% Approval, Trump Ducks Head-On Collision with Labor
Targeted as the most vulnerable Republican in the House, Chavez-DeRemer was one of only three Republicans, who sponsored the PRO Act and took a few pro-union votes.
With unions at 70% popularity rating, the appointment of Chavez-DeRemer is seen as a sign that Trump was unwilling to engage in a head on dispute against organized labor.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who drew criticism for speaking at the RNC in praise of Trump, applauded Trump’s selection of Chavez-DeRemer as Secretary of Labor.
“Thank you @realDonaldTrump for putting American workers first by nominating Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer for US Labor Secretary,” tweeted O’Brien with a photo, where he appeared alongside both Trump and Chavez-DeRemer. “Nearly a year ago, you joined us for a @Teamsters roundtable and pledged to listen to workers and find common ground to protect and respect labor in America. You put words into action.”
Congressman Bobby Scott, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said:
“I wish to offer my congratulations to my colleague Congresswoman Chavez-DeRemer on her nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Labor. I have worked with Congresswoman Chavez-DeRemer for the past two years on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and she has shown a willingness to work in a bipartisan manner and support policies that benefit workers, such as the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.
AFL-CIO Cautions Against Seeing Chavez-DeRemer As Savior of Labor
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler was more skeptical about whether the appointment of Chavez-DeRemer would mean that the incoming Trump Administration would be a friend of workers.
“Donald Trump is the President-elect of the United States—not Rep. Chavez-DeRemer—and it remains to be seen what she will be permitted to do as Secretary of Labor in an administration with a dramatically anti-worker agenda,” noted Shuler. “Despite having distanced himself from Project 2025 during his campaign, President-elect Trump has put forward several cabinet nominees with strong ties to [anti-union] Project 2025.”
Former OSHA Deputy Director Jordan Barab echoed similar concerns about whether she could be a force for working people within the Department of Labor.
“The true test is not what her past record was, but rather how subservient she will be to Donald Trump,” wrote Barab in an email to Payday Report. “Where will she stand on OSHA's proposed heat standard? Where is she on Schedule F? How hard will she come down on child labor? Where is she on worker misclassification and fake "independent contractors?”
National Education Association President Becky Pringle also noted that the National Labor Relations Board regulates union busting, not the Department of Labor.
“During his first term, Trump appointed anti-worker, anti-union National Labor Relations Board members,” said Pringle in a statement. “Now he is threatening to take the unprecedented action of removing current pro-worker NLRB members in the middle of their term, replacing them with his corporate friends. And he is promising to appoint judges and justices who are hostile to workers and unions.”
“Divide and Conquer” as Trump Threatens Federal Workers
Some also see this move as a divide and conquer tactic as Trump has pledged to take down federal workers unions.
Recently, Trump announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would head up with the Department of Government Efficiency, an informal advisory board that is not an actual government department. Musk has announced that he would target approximately 50,000 federal employees for firing without regard to civil service protections.
Federal workers’ unions have vowed to fight back.
“But make no mistake: our union will not stand by and let any political leader – regardless of their political affiliation – run roughshod over the Constitution and our laws,” said AFGE President Everett Kelley in a statement.
For more on the plans to fight back, check out NBC News.
Help Cover Federal Employees Fighting Back Against Elon Musk
With Elon Musk targeting federal employees for firing, it’s likely that many federal workers will fight back.
Payday wants to cover the fight back, but our ability to crowdfund has been restricted by Elon Musk himself through throttling our account on twitter. We need your help now more than ever to cover this fight back.
Donate to help us cover federal employees fighting back. Please, if you can, sign up as one of our recurring donors today.
That’s all for tonight - we’ll have more next week. Keep sending tips, story ideas, comments, and complaints to melk@paydayreport.com. Thanks again for all the support.
Love & Solidarity,
Melk
