Some were surprised when President Trump nominated Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemar, R. Ore., as his nominee to be Secretary of Labor. The daughter of a Teamster, she has considered herself a supporter of unions and labor rights, and one of only three Republican representatives to vote for the Pro Act.
However, following meetings with various Republican leaders in Congress, no serious opposition followed from the business community. Further, the AFL-CIO listed her Congressional track records as only 10% in voting “with working people,” just slightly better than House Republicans’ 6% average.
It should be noted that the Republican Party has increasingly become the party of working people, with Trump winning half of union households and the vast majority of working class households. Several Republican senators, including the Vice President, have taken positions supportive of organized labor and worker rights.
A reasonable forecast of her agenda, therefore, would be to be one of moderation and compromise, weighing employer’s interests and those of workers and organized labor. The need to deal with organized labor will occur early in the Administration, as nearly 200 large union contracts are set to expire in 2025, covering more than 1.5 million workers. The earliest chance for a strike has been avoided with the recent settlement of the 45,000 longshoremen docks along the U.S. and Gulf Coast. The President actually voiced his support of the dockworkers’ demands, rejecting further automation of the East Coast docks, after the parties reached a deal on a 62% wage increase over six years.
Further, it should be noted that any pro-union sympathies on the part of the new Secretary could conceivably be offset by Elon Musk, who has a history of confrontations with organized labor. In an August conversation with Elon Musk on X, Trump himself said: “I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike, and you say ‘that’s ok,’ you’re all gone,” resulting in unfair labor practice charges from unions. Last October, in a 9-8 decision by an en banc panel, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Elon Musk’s tweets saying workers would lose stock options if they unionized was not illegal but was an opinion protected by the First Amendment.
This article is part of our February 2025 Newsletter.
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