Trump picks pro-union Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer to head Labor Department

President-elect Donald Trump has recently chosen Lori Chavez-DeRemer, one of the most pro-union Republicans to serve in Congress, as Secretary of Labor.

Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her bid to represent Oregon in the House of Representatives. His campaign was backed by nearly two dozen unions, including those representing flight attendants and grocery store workers.

Sean O’Brien, president of the influential International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, said: Chavez-DeRemer’s candidacy.

He was one of three House Republicans in Congress to support the PRO Act, one of the most significant union bills in years that would strengthen workers’ rights to organize and limit retaliation by employers. He was also one of the few House Republicans to support the Civil Service Freedom of Negotiation Act, which would expand collective bargaining rights for state and local government employees. positions predominantly occupied by women.

Chavez-DeRemer advocated for improving the child care system. It was last year only one in five Responding to The 19th’s questions about the child care policy they would support, Republicans said he favors expanding the tax credit for employers that offer child care.

He spoke of the importance of the Republican party being the party of workers “under the leadership of President Trump.”

“Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce and support America’s hard-working men and women,” Trump wrote on social media platform Truth Social.

In X, O’Brien of the Teamsters union thanked Trump for “putting American workers first” with Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination.

“Nearly a year ago, you attended 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. “Now let’s raise wages and improve working conditions across the country,” he said. O’Brien wrote.

If confirmed, Chavez-DeRemer would follow Biden’s first Labor Secretary, Marty Walsh, a longtime union leader, and acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, a former California labor secretary and commissioner as well as a former labor secretary. labor lawyer – in the role.

This election represents something of a breaking point for Trump, who usually chooses pro-business leaders to head the department.

The question now is how Trump’s approach might evolve with Chavez-DeRemer in charge.

Trump’s Labor Department was expected to roll back some regulations from past administrations. Most likely, the Obama-era overtime rule that administrations have been fighting over ever since will also be eliminated.

During the Obama administration, the Labor Department expanded the number of workers eligible for 1.5 times pay if they work more than 40 hours a week to those earning up to about $47,000 a year (about 33 percent of people). an analysis By the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank focused on the needs of low- and middle-income workers.

But the rule was blocked in court, and when Trump took office the Labor Department proposed a new rule with a lower threshold of about $35,500 to negate the impact. As a result, approximately 8 million workers (4.2 million women, 2.9 million people of color, 2.7 million parents) were laid off.

The Biden administration later backtracked, raising the threshold for those earning up to about $43,800. An estimated 4.3 million workers, More than half are womenThey were impressed. A federal judge recently appointed by Trump in Texas this prevented expansionHe’s arranging for Trump’s Labor Department to take over from there. The threshold will rise again to $58,656 in 2025.

During the president-elect’s first term, the ministry also retreated The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order, issued during the Obama administration, required federal contractors to comply with 14 labor and civil rights laws, including the pay transparency rule. Biden last year issued a new rule that prohibits more than 80 federal agencies from considering workers’ current or past wages when setting their salaries. This practice has suppressed women’s wages by moving inequalities from one job to another and is considered key. closing the wage gap between men and women.

The Trump administration will probably want to reconsider these policies.

Originally published by 19.