Trump’s pick for Labor Secretary is his worst nominee yet.
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Nominates Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a teachers union favorite, to be his Labor Secretary.
Hard to believe, but Donald Trump on Friday night nominated a favorite of teachers union chief Randi Weingarten as his Labor Secretary. Why would Mr. Trump want to empower labor bosses who oppose his economic agenda and spent masses to defeat him?
Mr. Trump’s regrettable choice is Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Ms. Weingarten on Thursday tweeted her support for the freshman Republican. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who spoke at the Republican National Convention, has also been pulling for her. In a Truth Social post, Mr. Trump said she’ll work toward “historic cooperation between Business and Labor.” But Ms. Chavez-DeRemer has backed union giveaways like the Pro Act, which are not “cooperation.”
Mr. O’Brien no doubt didn’t want to alienate his Democratic friends who have done the union’s bidding. This includes sponsoring the Pro Act, which Ms. Chavez-DeRemer endorsed. The bill would override right-to-work laws in 26 states that give workers a choice of joining a union. It would also subvert secret-ballot elections, which protect workers from union intimidation.
The Pro Act would effectively ban gig jobs and codify the Biden National Labor Relations Board’s joint-employer standard, which would upend the franchise business model and contracting arrangements to make it easier for unions to organize workers. The result would be less autonomy for franchisees and small businesses that contract with bigger firms.
The Pro Act would essentially return labor relations to the days before the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act when strikes were rampant and labor mobility was harder. It’s a pro-union but anti-worker bill.
It gets worse. Ms. Chavez-DeRemer backs the misnamed Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which would require all states and localities to collectively bargain with government workers. This is a recipe to turn Texas, Florida and other GOP-controlled states into fiscal basket-cases like Illinois, California and New York.
Putting Ms. Chavez-DeRemer in charge of Labor will make labor bosses, not workers, more powerful again.
This pick is truly rat vomit nauseating. We should be expanding right to work laws not trashing them.
We need to end collective bargaining of public unions, not pandering to them.
Has Trump learned nothing from Chicago?
A Lesson Not Learned
Consider the September 19 WSJ article The Teamsters’ Lesson for Trump
The mighty Teamsters union this week declined to endorse Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump is doing the happy dance. He might pause his shuffle to consider what he did—and didn’t—do to merit that honor.
The Teamsters’ Wednesday announcement that it would forgo a presidential endorsement for the first time in 28 years was both seismic and disingenuous. President Sean O’Brien undoubtedly regrets his decision to solicit the opinions of the 1.3 million workers he represents. Aware that a strong Trump sentiment runs through his rank and file, Mr. O’Brien went through the motions of conducting “the most inclusive, democratic, and transparent” endorsement process in Teamsters’ history. He ran member polling, interviewed both Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris, and requested speaking slots at both party conventions.
That was a big mistake. The idea was to give the union cover when it did what it always does—endorse the Democrat. But the leadership didn’t count on a nonignorable result. An electronic member poll that began in late July showed 60% rank-and-file support for Mr. Trump. A frantic do-over poll barely reduced the figure—to 58%. Ms. Harris didn’t help, not bothering to show up for her Teamsters sit-down until this Monday.
The Harris team likes to list what makes the Biden administration “the most pro-union” in history: carve-outs for union contractors in infrastructure projects, federal officials and agencies that take only labor’s side in union elections or disputes, hostility to business and independent contractors, a huge union pension bailout in 2021. In short, a narrow agenda geared toward rigging the game for unions at the expense of everyone else.
Mr. Trump might think hard on this, as his campaign increasingly resorts to pandering handouts to buy votes. No taxes on overtime! No taxes on tips! The populist whisperers are pushing him to abandon longstanding free-market principles to suck up to union leaders further—including a minimum-wage increase, cracking down on job creators, throwing in for union elections or, God forbid, backing away from right to work. But the lesson of Biden-Harris is that all the pandering in the world won’t make up for a failed broader agenda. Besides, the GOP never has stood a chance against Democrats in any pander war, and it never will.
Blue-collar workers liked Mr. Trump before his suck-ups. They’ve been with him since the first term, when he pursued a Reaganesque agenda that brought them prosperity. They’ve stayed with him despite blatant Biden union brown-nosing. And that’s because—shocking though it might be to liberals—millions of union members remain red-blooded Americans, with a fierce belief in capitalism and competition. Many also appreciate the longstanding GOP approach to unions, which emphasizes liberty for workers—namely, that union membership and political dues must be voluntary, and that unions must be transparent and honest in their dealings.
Mr. Trump has far more to lose by abandoning core principles—including any success in a second term—than he does to gain with union kowtowing. That’s the lesson of this week’s Teamsters endorsement moment.
A Faustian Bargain
Is this a union payback for the Teamsters not endorsing Harris?
The biggest problem with this idiotic pick is the Democrat Senators will all back it.
Let’s see what the true believes concoct to support this monstrosity.
If voters wanted the problems of the Chicago school system, they would have voted for Harris.
Best Pick, Worst Pick
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a teachers union favorite, for Labor Secretary its Trump’s worst pick.
Tom Homan for border czar is Trump’s best pick.
For discussion, please see Border Czar Tom Homan Rips Illinois Governor JB Pritzker On Illegal Immigrants
Part of best and worst is ability to get the vote through the Senate. I expect this pick is likely to go trough. And Democrats will be cheering.