The incoming Trump administration tapped a pro-union congresswoman as its choice to lead the U.S. Department of Labor. The nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer, an Oregon Republican who lost her reelection bid, has generated criticism from some Republicans and business leaders, and praise from some on the left.
President-elect Trump cited Chavez-DeRemer’s union bona fides, pointing to her “strong support from both the business and labor communities.” The administration will expand training and apprenticeships, Trump said in the announcement, while growing wages, improving working conditions, and bringing back manufacturing jobs.
The daughter of a Teamsters member, Chavez-DeRemer represents the next administration’s “messy coalition” and its attempt to court organized labor amid a startling political realignment. Even so, many observers were shocked by the nomination of a co-sponsor of the Pro Act, a package of legislation that could have been the most significant expansion of labor rights since the New Deal.
Business groups were fiercely opposed to the proposal, and share similar views about the pick of Chavez-DeRemer. Several prominent Republicans questioned her nomination, while The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote that the move puts unions over workers:
“Republicans can work with unions to improve workforce training and increase alternative education pathways like apprenticeships. But putting Ms. Chavez-DeRemer in charge of Labor will make labor bosses, not workers, more powerful again.”
In a surreal turn, the progressive Economic Policy Institute and teachers’ union head Randi Weingarten praised the record of Chavez-DeRemer. However, EPI and others said Trump pursued an ambitious anti-worker agenda during his first term.
“Donald Trump is the president-elect of the United States—–not Rep. Chavez-DeRemer,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement.
Finishing that thought was Seth Harris, a professor at Northeastern University and Labor Department veteran of the Biden and Obama administrations. “Trump is president and he doesn’t like unions,” said Harris. “And people around him hate them.”
Updating the Workforce System
Meanwhile, a bid to reauthorize the law that underpins the $3B federal workforce system has cleared an impasse over labor law disclosures. Proponents of the update to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which generally has received lukewarm reviews, are cautiously optimistic the legislation could cross the finish line before the end of the year.
The deal to advance the bill strips out disclosure requirements sought by unions and some consumer advocates. Critics call the overhaul a missed opportunity, with no new investments or significant structural changes to the fragmented, underfunded workforce system. Backers say the legislation is worthy compromise that would make improvements to WIOA while providing more accountability.
Secretary of Education
Trump’s nominee to lead the Education Department, which faces possible elimination during his second term, is a supporter of apprenticeship.
The former head of the U.S. Small Business Administration and professional wrestling magnate, Linda McMahon, is co-chair of the next administration’s transition team. Last week she said apprenticeships are a pathway to successful careers, and that Switzerland’s approach to the learn-and-earn programs is a model the rest of the world can follow.
McMahon also has backed a stalled congressional bill that would open up federal Pell Grants to programs that take less than 15 weeks to complete. “Our educational system must offer clear and viable pathways to the American Dream aside from four-year degrees,” she wrote in a recent essay.