Posts tagged Labor Secretary
Op-ed: A GOP-Teamsters Alliance Makes No Sense
August 24, 2025 // Republicans getting on board with these ideas aren’t just awkward—they’re incoherent. There’s little evidence that endorsements from Teamsters executives move the needle in general elections, for parties or for candidates. Can Republicans credibly argue that filling the Teamsters’ coffers (and campaign-donation kitty) will result in the sort of political realignment some hope for, or even a lasting political windfall? The only guaranteed outcome is more power for the Teamsters and other unions over U.S. labor relations. If these overtures to the Teamsters backfire, Republicans can’t say they weren’t warned. As one GOP politician running for Missouri attorney general tweeted in 2015, after labor-aligned Republicans derailed state right-to-work legislation, “time for an end to union-backed candidates in GOP.”
Commentary: To Harvard and Back with Julie Su
August 18, 2025 // This year, Julie Su, Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of labor, became a resident fellow with Harvard’s Kennedy School, Institute of Politics. The Century Foundation also brought Su on board as a full-time senior fellow. These prestigious institutions seem to have overlooked key events in Su’s long career. Harvard, where Su, a Stanford grad, earned her law degree, hails the Biden nominee as “a nationally recognized workers’ rights and civil rights expert.” As California’s labor commissioner, Su was “widely credited with a renaissance in enforcement and creative approaches to combating wage theft and protecting immigrant workers.” In reality, her experience was a bit more extensive.
GOP senator, labor secretary visit Louisiana alligator farm touting new pro-worker legislation
August 16, 2025 // Fresh off helping pass that bill, Cassidy is championing his pro-worker legislation, the Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act, introduced last month with senators Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Rand Paul, R-Ky. The bill seeks to modernize federal labor laws, granting gig workers and independent contractors access to health benefits, paid sick leave and retirement plans, among other provisions.
Trump Is Making Major Concessions To Union Bosses. Is It Worth It?
August 15, 2025 // The Institute for the American Worker noted that union members who had funds embezzled by their leaders in recent years would now have less insight into how their dues were being spent. For example, in 2024, the Secretary-Treasurer of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 2198 pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $63,000; under the proposed rule, the group would no longer have to file an LM-2.
Trump’s Labor Department proposes more than 60 rule changes in a push to deregulate workplaces
July 22, 2025 // The U.S. Department of Labor is aiming to rewrite or repeal more than 60 “obsolete” workplace regulations, ranging from minimum wage requirements for home health care workers and people with disabilities to standards governing exposure to harmful substances.
Bid Protests Offer a Way Around PLAs, But Will a Slow, Steady Precedent Win the Day?
June 25, 2025 // The OMB memo instructs federal agencies to maintain the labor pact requirements but also points to a Federal Acquisition Rule provision that provides an exception to the PLA requirement for large construction projects when its use would substantially reduce the number of bidders and impact the price. But it has left neither contractor groups nor NABTU happy. "To that extent this isn’t what we hoped for, it is definitely better than what was in place with the Biden administration,” Brian Turmail, vice president of public affairs and workforce at AGC told ENR. “In addition, given the recent court decisions, it is hard to see how the administration will be able to impose a mandated PLA without facing successful bid protests."
California: The Lost Report
April 1, 2025 // On December 3, 2020, almost a year after California’s freelance-busting law, Assembly Bill 5, went into effect, the California Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights was created to study AB5’s civil rights implications. The committee’s officially designated term ended December 4, 2024. There were hours and hours of testimony, much of it recorded on video. But the committee never issued a report based on all this testimony its members heard. Members of the committee say they were told that if they issued individual statements in the absence of any committee report, they would be failing to comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the rules of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Op-ed: Priorities for Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer
March 11, 2025 // These reforms align with President Trump’s bold vision, exemplified by the reinstatement of Schedule F, to enhance accountability and performance in the federal workforce. They are not just about efficiency-they are about empowering federal employees to thrive while delivering exceptional service to Americans. Secretary Chavez-DeRemer has a chance to lead with principle, prioritizing worker autonomy over union influence. The time to act is now. On behalf of Americans for Fair Treatment, I stand ready to support her in unleashing the full potential of our federal workforce.
Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien’s mission to chart a new political path
March 11, 2025 // The Teamsters president may not claim any vindication, but his approach is encouraging some copycats among his counterparts in other major unions. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention and aggressively campaigned for Democrats up and down the ticket while labeling Trump an anti-union “scab,” has suddenly found a soft spot for the GOP and taken steps to engage with Republican senators.
Senate confirms Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor secretary
March 11, 2025 // “The American people demand and deserve change after four years of economic heartache under the ‘most pro-union administration in American history.’ Unfortunately, Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s record pushing policies that force hardworking Americans into union membership suggests more of the same,” McConnell said. “Most Americans believe joining a union should be a personal choice – not a mandate – which is why more than half the states, including Kentucky, have adopted right-to-work laws.”