11/25/24
With the pick of Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Labor Secretary, Trump has made another tactical mistake. Her voting record speaks volumes to her position as a labor advocate/activist. Most glaring is her support for the “Protecting the Right to Organize Act” in 2023, one of only 3 republicans that did so. This legislation would have outlawed right-to-work legislation in the states, and provided unions with untoward tools that favor them and handcuff management in organizing efforts. It would have furthered the strength of public unions which counters the stated efforts to curtail the behemoth federal government. Is it going to be resurrected?
How this selection squares with DOGE is lost on me. Both Musk and Ramaswamy anticipate struggles with unions on reductions in force. Their intentions are put against the backdrop of greater numbers of federal employees who increasingly join unions.
“According to new numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), more federal workers joined unions last year. Federal density in 2023 was 25.1%, up from 24.4% in 2022.” (https://www.afge.org/article/union-membership-in-federal-sector-went-up-in-2023/)
So why put in place a person who will likely, based on past performance, be a hinderance to Trump’s state objective of “draining the swamp”? Why the nod to Union Leader Sean O’Brien simply for speaking at the RNC convention? History has shown that every time we acquiesce to the left, they simply push for more. Right-to-work laws are at the heart of personal freedom. That they can be taken away by this incoming administration is an affront to those who support a vastly reduced influence of large labor groups on our federal, state and local governments and overall economy.
I suspect that hoards of federal employees will seek to join unions looking to preserve their jobs. They are hoping to hide behind antiquated rules put in place to by those who drink at the union trough. With a swamp subservient Washington DC court now packed with a majority of left wing Democrats, the resistance needs no more help. Certainly, not from someone who has the bully pulpit and power to make significant positive change.
Chavez-DeRemer should follow the route Matt Gaetz took. Take a walk through the Senate offices and gauge the sentiments for her appointment and once done, bow out gracefully saving Trump from yet another embarrassing failed appointment.
Current Day Publius 