The Nation: Trump’s Labor Secretary Pick Turns Out to Be Super Anti-Labor

When Donald Trump nominated former US representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as secretary of labor, a narrative emerged that the 47th president was breaking from Republican orthodoxy and choosing a Labor Department head who might actually be sympathetic to workers and their unions. After all, as a member of the House, Chavez-DeRemer, an Oregon Republican, had been one of the few members of her party’s caucus to back pro-union legislation such as the Protecting the Right to Organize Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act.

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On the eve of Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, media outlets referred to her as “Trump’s pro-union pick” and “Donald Trump’s Pro-Union Labor Secretary Pick.”

But serious observers of Trump’s frequently belligerent attitude toward organized labor remained skeptical. “Chavez-DeRemer’s record suggests she understands the value of policies that strengthen workers’ rights and economic security,” Rebecca Dixon, the president of the National Employment Law Project, said after the president-elect revealed his pick in November. “But the Trump administration’s agenda is fundamentally at odds with these principles, threatening to roll back workplace protections, undermine collective bargaining, and prioritize corporate profits over the needs of working people. This is where her true commitment to workers will be tested.”

On Wednesday, when Chavez-DeRemer finally appeared before the HELP Committee, she failed the test. Miserably.

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Read the full article at thenation.com.