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Unions Note Chavez-DeRemer's Record, 'But Donald Trump Is the President-Elect'
The DOL pick has sparked debates about how much she will actually "do right by workers" and whether "Teamsters president Sean O'Brien and Donald Trump are effectively dividing the labor movement."
Nov 23, 2024
Amid a flurry of Friday night announcements about key roles in the next Trump administration, one stood out to union leaders and other advocates for working people: Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer, an Oregon Republican, for labor secretary.
Chavez-DeRemer, who lost her reelection bid to Democrat Janelle Bynum earlier this month, "has built a pro-labor record in Congress, including as one of only three Republicans to co-sponsor the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and one of eight Republicans to co-sponsor the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act," said AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler in a statement.
"But 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," she stressed. "Despite having distanced himself from Project 2025 during his campaign, President-elect Trump has put forward several Cabinet nominees with strong ties to Project 2025. That 900-page document has proposals that would strip overtime pay, eliminate the right to organize, and weaken health and safety standards."
"You can stand with working people, or you can stand with Project 2025, but you can't stand with both."
"The AFL-CIO will work with anyone who wants to do right by workers, but we will reject and defeat any attempt to roll back the rights and protections that working people have won with decades of blood, sweat, and tears," added Schuler, whose group endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and developed a guide detailing how the right-wing initiative would be catastrophic for working people. "You can stand with working people, or you can stand with Project 2025, but you can't stand with both."
Seth Harris, a Northeastern University professor who served as acting secretary of labor under former President Barack Obama, toldBloomberg that "the president-elect has nominated a unicorn: a genuine pro-labor Republican."
"This is about the best nomination for the Labor Department that Democrats could have hoped for," he said, but "we don't know if she's going to be given the freedom to carry out the agenda that she supported in Congress."
Some skeptics and critics highlighted that Chavez-DeRemer—who only entered the U.S. House of Representatives last year—has just a 10% lifetime score from the AFL-CIO. Among them was longtime labor reporter Mike Elk, who warned, "This is divide and conquer politics at its worst as Trump prepares for an attack on federal workers unions!"
Others, such as Progressive Mass policy director Jonathan Cohn and University of California, Los Angeles historian Trevor Griffey, have suggested that Trump's U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) nominee supporting the PRO Act was simply her "posturing in a swing district."
Like the AFL-CIO, the nation's two largest teachers unions shared nuanced reactions to Trump choosing Chavez-DeRemer. Alongside many other labor groups, both backed Harris after President Joe Biden left the race—though Trump's victory has ignited heated debates over the Democratic Party's failure to win over working-class voters in a cycle that featured Trump cosplaying in a Pennsylvania McDonald's and a garbage truck while cozying up to the world's richest man, Elon Musk, and praising him for firing striking workers.
National Education Association president Becky Pringle said in a statement that "across America, most of us want the same things—strong public schools to help every student grow into their full brilliance and good jobs where workers earn living wages to provide for their families."
Noting Chavez-DeRemer's co-sponsorship of "pro-student, pro-public school, pro-worker legislation" and votes "against gutting the Department of Education, against school vouchers, and against cuts to education funding," Pringle asserted that "this record stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump's anti-worker, anti-union record, and his extreme Project 2025 agenda that would gut workplace protections, make it harder for workers to unionize, and diminish the voice of working people."
"During his first term, Trump appointed anti-worker, anti-union National Labor Relations Board members," she continued. "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."
Trump's track
record also includes nominating agency leaders and U.S. Supreme Court justices with histories of siding with companies over employees, gutting DOL regulations intended to protect workers' wages and benefits, and giving major tax cuts to wealthy individuals and corporations—policies he plans to extend with the help of an incoming GOP Congress.
"Educators and working families across the nation will be watching Lori Chavez-DeRemer as she moves through the confirmation process," said Pringle, "and hope to hear a pledge from her to continue to stand up for workers and students as her record suggests, not blind loyalty to the Project 2025 agenda."
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten called Chavez-DeRemer's selection "significant," given that "her record suggests real support of workers and their right to unionize."
"I hope it means the Trump [administration] will actually respect collective bargaining and workers' voices from Teamsters to teachers," Weingarten added, referring to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The Teamsters notably declined to endorse in the U.S. presidential contest after the group's general president, Sean O'Brien was widely criticized by labor advocates including his predecessor for speaking at the Republican National Convention. O'Brien lobbied Trump to choose Chavez-DeRemer and welcomed the Friday development on social media, posting a photo of himself with the pair and thanking the president-elect "for putting American workers first."
"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," O'Brien wrote. "You put words into action. Now let's grow wages and improve working conditions nationwide. Congratulations to Lori Chavez-DeRemer on your nomination! North America's strongest union is ready to work with you every step of the way to expand good union jobs and rebuild our nation's middle class. Let's get to work!"
Washington Post labor reporter Lauren Kaori Gurleydescribed Trump's decision as "a coup for the Teamsters" and New York Times labor reporter Noam Scheiber called it "a bona fide win" for the union, though he added that "the way you'll know if they have substantive influence or mostly cosmetic influence is if Trump's NLRB continues pressuring Amazon to bargain with unionized workers and drivers, who the Teamsters represent."
Meanwhile, Labor Notes staff writer Luis Feliz Leon said: "Lori Chavez-DeRemer for labor secretary isn't a win for the labor movement. The PRO Act is dead. Unlike the Democrats, the Republicans have party discipline. What's noteworthy: Teamsters president Sean O'Brien and Donald Trump are effectively dividing the labor movement."
Some right-wing leaders and groups have already expressed disapproval of Trump's nominee, a sign that she may need some Democratic support to get confirmed by the Senate—if the president-elect doesn't pursue recess appointments.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who serves as Senate Appropriations Committee chair and president pro tempore until Republicans take over in January, said Friday that "Americans deserve a labor secretary who understands that building a stronger economy means standing up for workers, not billionaires and giant corporations."
"We need a labor secretary who will protect workers' rights, help ensure everyone can have a secure retirement, make sure every worker gets paid the full paycheck they've earned, and that all workers are treated with dignity and respect. And as an original author of the PRO Act, I'm glad to see Rep. Chavez-DeRemer is a co-sponsor," she continued. "I look forward to carefully evaluating Rep. Chavez-DeRemer's qualifications leading up to her hearing and a thorough vetting process."
In a statement announcing the nominee, Trump said: "Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America's workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America. I look forward to working with her to create tremendous opportunity for American Workers, to expand Training and Apprenticeships, to grow wages and improve working conditions, to bring back our Manufacturing jobs."
"Together, we will achieve historic cooperation between Business and Labor that will restore the American Dream for Working Families," he added. "Lori's strong support from both the Business and Labor communities will ensure that the Labor Department can unite Americans of all backgrounds behind our Agenda for unprecedented National Success—Making America Richer, Wealthier, Stronger, and more Prosperous than ever before!"
Other key picks announced Friday included former Office of Budget and Management Director Russ Vought, a Project 2025 architect, to return as the agency's leader, and ex-professional football player Scott Turner of the Trump-allied America First Policy Institute to helm the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Trump also chose billionaire hedge fund manager
Scott Bessent, who supports his tariff plan, to run the U.S. Treasury Department. That followed the president-elect naming billionaire Wall Street CEO Howard Lutnick as his nominee for commerce secretary, meaning he will lead tariff and trade policy.
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'Betsy DeVos 2.0': Trump Picks WWE Billionaire Linda McMahon to Lead Education Department
"During his first term, Donald Trump appointed Betsy DeVos to undermine and ultimately privatize public schools through vouchers," said the president of the National Education Association. "Now, he and Linda McMahon are back at it."
Nov 20, 2024
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced late Tuesday that he intends to nominate Linda McMahon, the billionaire former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, to lead the Department of Education, a key agency that Republicans—including Trump and the authors of Project 2025—have said they want to abolish.
McMahon served as head of the Small Business Administration during Trump's first White House term and later chaired both America First Action—a pro-Trump super PAC—and the America First Policy Institute, a far-right think tank that has expressed support for cutting federal education funding and expanding school privatization.
Trump touted McMahon's work to expand school "choice"—a euphemism for taxpayer-funded private school vouchers—and said she would continue those efforts on a national scale as head of the Education Department.
"We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort," Trump said in a statement posted to his social media platform, Truth Social. (McMahon is listed as an independent director of Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs Truth Social.)
The National Education Association (NEA), a union that represents millions of teachers across the U.S., said in response to the president-elect's announcement that McMahon is "grossly unqualified" to lead the Education Department, noting that she has "lied about having a degree in education," presided over an organization "with a history of shady labor practices," and "pushed for an extreme agenda that would harm students, defund public schools, and privatize public schools through voucher schemes."
"During his first term, Donald Trump appointed Betsy DeVos to undermine and ultimately privatize public schools through vouchers," NEA president Becky Pringle said in a statement. "Now, he and Linda McMahon are back at it with their extreme Project 2025 proposal to eliminate the Department of Education, steal resources for our most vulnerable students, increase class sizes, cut job training programs, make higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families, take away special education services for disabled students, and put student civil rights protections at risk."
"The Department of Education plays such a critical role in the success of each and every student in this country," Pringle continued. "The Senate must stand up for our students and reject Donald Trump's unqualified nominee, Linda McMahon. Our students and our nation deserve so much better than Betsy DeVos 2.0."
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, took a more diplomatic approach, saying in a statement that "we look forward to learning more about" McMahon and that, if she's confirmed, "we will reach out to her as we did with Betsy DeVos at the beginning of her tenure."
"While we expect that we will disagree with Linda McMahon on many issues, our devotion to kids requires us to work together on policies that can improve the lives of students, their families, their educators, and their communities," Weingarten added.
McMahon is one of several billionaires Trump has selected for major posts in his incoming administration, which is teeming with conflicts of interest. During Trump's first term, McMahon and her husband, Vince McMahon, made at least $100 million from dividends, investment interest, and stock and bond sales.
The Guardiannoted Tuesday that "in October, [Linda] McMahon was named in a new lawsuit involving WWE."
"The suit alleges that she and other leaders of the company allowed the sexual abuse of young boys at the hands of a ringside announcer, former WWE ring crew chief Melvin Phillips Jr," the newspaper reported. "The complaint specifically alleges that the McMahons knew about the abuse and failed to stop it."
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Biden Endorsements on the Line as Outrage Over Gaza Grows
"You need to listen," said the head of one group that revoked a primary endorsement. "Because we are the ones who will go out and knock on doors, we are the ones who will do phone banks for swing states."
Jan 23, 2024
U.S. President Joe Biden's refusal to do all he can to stop Israel's war on the Gaza Strip has consequences for not only Palestinian civilians in the besieged enclave but also this year's presidential contest in which the Democrat is seeking reelection.
Multiple polls over the past couple of months have shown Biden's approval rating at all-time lows, partly related to how he has handled Israel killing nearly 25,500 people in Gaza—as of Tuesday—in response to the Hamas-led attack on October 7.
Biden last month called out Israel's "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza and said that "I want them to be focused on how to save civilian lives," but he has also bypassed Congress to arm Israeli forces while asking lawmakers for a $14.3 billion package on top of the United States' $3.8 billion in annual military aid to its Middle East ally.
The president isn't on New Hampshire's Tuesday primary ballot because of a fight between state leaders and the Democratic National Committee, but some Biden supporters are calling on voters to write in his name. Critics of U.S. support for Israel's assault on Gaza are urging voters to send him a message by writing in "cease-fire."
Biden's longshot primary challengers—Marianne Williamson, who notably supports a cease-fire in Gaza, and Congressman Dean Phillips (D-Minn.)—are on New Hampshire's ballot. On the Republican side, former President Donald Trump, the leading candidate despite his legal trouble, is expected to win the GOP primary in the state.
On the eve of the New Hampshire vote, a prominent group in California—where the primary is March 5, or Super Tuesday—announced its members "overwhelmingly voted" to rescind an endorsement of Biden from October due to "widespread outrage and international indignation over the president's handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict."
"Focused on the crisis in Gaza, we condemn President Biden's misguided and perilous actions, and inaction, which undermine the long-term interests of both Israelis and Palestinians," the San Francisco-based Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club said Monday. "While our stance doesn't extend to the November 2024 general elections, we aim to send a powerful signal to President Biden and the Democratic establishment that our base demands to be heard."
The club's president, Jeffrey Kwong, told the San Francisco Chronicle that "yes, this is a precarious time" for the United States, but "this humanitarian crisis has been in our hearts and minds," and rescinding the endorsement is a clear message to Biden.
"We're the rank and file, we're one of the largest Democratic clubs in the state, and you need to listen," Kwong said. "Because we are the ones who will go out and knock on doors, we are the ones who will do phone banks for swing states."
The San Francisco club isn't alone in reconsidering a Biden endorsement. With 3 million members, the National Education Association (NEA) is the largest union in the country, and it endorsed Biden in April—followed by various key labor groups last year.
Now, some rank-and-file members want the NEA to revoke the teachers union's endorsement of Biden until he fights for a permanent cease-fire; stops sending military support to Israel; and uses diplomatic pressure to secure the release of all political prisoners and hostages as well as end Israel's blockade of Gaza, settlement activity in the West Bank, and killing of journalists.
A petition from NEA members behind this push also calls on Biden to commit to demanding that Israel complies with international law and universal principles of human rights as well as fair due process for asylum-seekers and refugees that follows international law.
As Sarah Lazare reported Monday for The Nation and Workday Magazine:
The organizing effort to rescind this endorsement is just getting started, and it's too soon to know what base of support it has. But its backers point to momentum they have already achieved: This same group of members successfully pressed 19 local, state, and regional bodies of the NEA to call for a cease-fire in Gaza, including the National Council of Urban Education Associations, a caucus comprised of 251 large NEA locals and UniServ Councils, which are associations of several locals. And the members behind these resolutions claim credit for NEA President Rebecca Pringle's December 8, 2023, tweet in support of a cease-fire. "With the end of the temporary truce," she wrote, "the need for a cease-fire in Gaza is growing."
And there are at least some supporters of the presidential un-endorsement in NEA's board of directors. Among them is Aaron Phillips, a 41-year-old fifth grade teacher and NEA board member from Amarillo, Texas. "There's a growing group of board members that support it," he said, referring to the effort to revoke the presidential endorsement. "If I were to make a motion, I'm confident I would have a second and would have a growing group of board members stand with me."
After the NEA, the nation's second-largest union is the Service Employees International Union, with nearly 2 million members. The SEIU on Monday became the biggest union in the country to call for a cease-fire in Gaza. The SEIU's lengthy statement advocated action by "elected leaders" but did not mention U.S. support for Israel or the union's April endorsement of Biden.
The SIEU joined a growing labor coalition that also includes the United Auto Workers—which has about 400,000 active members and more than 580,000 retired members and was the previously the largest union to call for a Gaza cease-fire. During a Monday speech at an ongoing conference, UAW president Shawn Fain reiterated the union's position as the crowd chanted "cease-fire now!"
The UAW hasn't yet endorsed Biden for 2024, but he courted union members by historically joining striking workers on the picket line last year before they finalized contracts with the Big Three automakers in Michigan, a swing state with significant Arab and Muslim populations—including U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian American in Congress.
Fain on Monday criticized Trump, telling reporters that he is "pretty much contrary to everything we stand for," without backing Biden. However, the UAW confirmed on Tuesday that the president is set to address union members at the conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, fueling speculation of a forthcoming endorsement.
Daniel Werst, an Indiana-based teacher, former carpenter, and long-term socialist, argued in Left Voice Tuesday that the union endorsement of Biden "would be a betrayal of all of the rank-and-file members who supported the call for a cease-fire. Instead of endorsing bourgeois candidates, the UAW needs to assert its independence from both parties of capital, and work to organize a real resistance to the war on Gaza."
"The UAW should not only call for an end to the war, but it should also oppose U.S. arming of Israel," Werst added. "Autoworkers and all workers need an anti-imperialist and pro-Palestinian movement that brings us into independent, working-class political action—not an official endorsement for Biden, who has forced Palestinians born into a ghetto to live in tents without access to doctors, food, or anesthetic in a war of David and Goliath."
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