In late November, President-elect Trump announced his intent to nominate outgoing Oregon Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor. Chavez-DeRemer is a one-term Congresswoman from Oregon, the daughter of a Teamsters’ union member and the co-owner of a string of medical clinics along with her husband.
Following Trump’s annaouncement, several union leaders issued statements announcing their endorsement of the selection, citing her sponsorship of the PRO Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act as proof she is a pro-union Republican that they’d be happy to work with. However, a deeper dive into her voting record as a one-term Congresswoman shows that she may not be as union-friendly as they hope.
While Chavez-DeRemer has stood with labor unions on a few occasions, some say her backing of the PRO Act was more political gamesmanship than actual support of labor law reform. Just days after she endorsed the PRO Act, her political consultant Michael Ingrao said the “bill will never be enacted.” Many speculate she signed on solely to appear union-friendly during a tight re-election campaign.
And, according to the AFL-CIO’s congressional ratings, Chavez-DeRemer voted for policies that favor workers just 10 percent of the time, only slightly higher than the 6 percent score for the average House Republican.
Looking at her voting record further, the AFL-CIO says she voted in favor of a bill that would undermine the unemployment insurance program and for legislation that would loosen regulation of health benefits and allow employers to offer plans that aren’t backed by adequate reserves. She also voted against one of the biggest labor priorities of the past decade—the “joint employer” rule to restrict companies’ ability to effectively outsource certain legal, pay, and benefits obligations to third parties, like contractors and franchisees.
Other organizations have noted Chavez-DeRemer’s less-than-stellar labor record, including the Oregon Capital Chronicle when it reported in August that she did not attend and publicly support labor when the House labor subcommittee “scheduled six meetings that devolved into union-bashing.” The Chronicle further noted that throughout her term, the Republican Rep. walked “a fine line between appealing to labor unions and business interests.”
While we don’t know what Chavez-DeRemer will do should she be confirmed as Labor Secretary, she was an early supporter of Trump and has signaled that she supports his policies.
