President-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination of outgoing Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R–Ore.) to serve as the head of the Labor Department.
Despite narrowly losing her reelection bid earlier in November, Chavez-DeRemer garnered significant support from union members in her Oregon district and won plaudits from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and its president, Sean O’Brien.
Local ties: Chavez-DeRemer is no stranger to the San Joaquin Valley. Born in Santa Clara, the GOP congresswoman grew up in Hanford.
- She graduated from Hanford High School in 1986 and earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Fresno State before relocating to Oregon.
What does the Labor Secretary do? If confirmed by the Senate, Chavez-DeRemer would be responsible for managing the Labor Department’s workforce and budget, setting key priorities that influence workers’ wages, health, safety, and right to unionize, as well as employers’ rights to terminate employees.
- In his statement announcing her appointment, Trump expressed confidence in Chavez-DeRemer’s ability to bring together diverse American backgrounds in support of his administration’s agenda for national success, emphasizing a vision of economic prosperity and strength.
- Following a meeting with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination received endorsement from the Teamsters’ O’Brien, with the trio photographed after the announcement.
- O’Brien voiced the union’s readiness to collaborate with Chavez-DeRemer towards creating more union jobs and bolstering the middle class.
The road ahead: The Oregonian’s support of aggressive labor laws could run headlong into GOP grilling in the Senate.
- Chavez-DeRemer is the only member that supported the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would reclassify a wide swath of gig workers and independent contractors as employees for purposes of being eligible to form or join unions and collectively bargain.
- The proposed Federal law, which has oft been compared to California’s Assembly Bill 5 – which reclassified independent contractors as employees for purposes of wages and benefits – did not seek to reclassify workers for purposes of mandating employing firms pay higher wages or benefits to former independent contractors.
What he’s saying: Trump lauded Chavez-DeRemer’s background supporting working Americans.
- “Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America,” Trump said in a statement announcing the pick. “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.”
