President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Lori Chavez-DeRemer, one of most pro-union Republicans to recently serve in Congress, to be his Labor secretary.
Chavez-DeRemer lost her reelection bid to represent Oregon in the House by a narrow margin. Her campaign was backed by about two dozen unions, including those representing flight attendants and grocery store workers.
Sean O’Brien, the president of the influential International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, pushed for Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination.
In Congress, she was one of three House Republicans to support the PRO Act, one of the most substantial union bills in recent years that would strengthen workers’ rights to organize and limit retaliation from employers. She was also one of the few House Republicans to support the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which would expand collective bargaining rights for state and local government workers — positions predominately held by women.
