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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. (Who lost reeelection.) 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.”
Hence
the enthusiasm from the labor bosses. “Teamsters are willing to work with anyone from any party, so long as they are committed to advancing a pro-worker agenda that creates and protects good-paying union jobs,” Mr. O’Brien wrote in Compact magazine this week. “By nominating Rep. Chavez-DeRemer, he can show that he stands by the people who are sending him back to the Oval Office come January.”
The pitch was that Mr. Trump could do a Nixon to China by improving the GOP’s relations with unions during his second term. But
why return a political favor that Mr. O’Brien didn’t do for Mr. Trump? The Teamsters chief refused to endorse the former President even though a majority of its members supported Mr. Trump in the union’s national survey.
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.
Teachers unions across the country could block education reforms and limit school choice via collective bargaining
(KY voters should be happy with this.). No wonder Ms. Weingarten supports her. But most businesses don’t.
The nomination of Ms. Chavez-DeRemer runs counter to Mr. Trump’s agenda of devolving power to the states, expanding school choice, empowering workers and easing business regulation."
nypost.com
