President-elect Donald Trump has selected Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his nominee direct the Labor Department.
The Oregon House member who narrowly lost her re-election bid earlier this month received strong support from union members in her district.
As a potential Secretary of Labor, Chavez-DeRemer would oversee the Department of Labor’s workforce and budget and set priorities that affect, among other things, workers’ wages, health, safety and ability to unionize and to the right of employers to dismiss employees.
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“Lori’s strong support from both the business and labor communities will ensure that the Department of Labor can unite Americans of all backgrounds behind our agenda for unprecedented national success: making America richer, wealthier, stronger and more prosperous than ever before!” Trump said in a statement.
Sources had previously told CBS News that Chavez-DeRemer met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Thursday.
Sean O’Brienpresident of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, praised the selection in a social media post, writing that “North America’s strongest labor union stands ready to work with you every step of the way to expand good union jobs and protect our middle class rebuild the country.”
Chavez-DeRemer, 56, is one of a handful of Republicans in the House of Representatives to support the Protecting the Right to Organize, or PRO Act, which would empower more workers to lead organizing campaigns and would add penalties to companies that violate workers’ rights. The bill would also weaken “right to work” laws that allow workers in more than half of states to opt out of joining or paying dues to unions that represent workers in their workplaces.
