Unions’ Choice

At first glance, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of one-term congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as Labor secretary is mystifying. The former congresswoman seemingly isn’t qualified for the position; she lacks relevant experience and, unlike many Trump supporters, hasn’t even been a union member. The pick makes more sense, however, as Trump’s concession to International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) general president Sean O’Brien for his agreeing to speak at the Republican Nation Convention and keep his union on the sidelines during the election.

Chavez-DeRemer’s most notable experience in labor issues is her service on the House Education and the Workforce Committee during her lone congressional term. More important, for O’Brien, is Chavez-DeRemer’s co-sponsorship of the labor movement’s holy grail: the poorly named Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.

Meantime, the Teamsters boss has cultivated a personal relationship with Trump without ever publicly endorsing him. O’Brien had a strong motive to break with his union’s tradition of backing Democratic candidates: a clear majority of rank and file Teamsters supported Trump in 2024, according to the IBT’s own internal polling.

With Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination, O’Brien has cashed in his chips. “In Congress, she is one of only three Republicans to co-sponsor the PRO Act—one of our union’s top priorities, aimed at reversing the decades-long anti-union drift of American labor law,” the labor leader wrote in Compact. Beyond that, O’Brien’s argument for Chavez-DeRemer boils down to her having been raised in a union family. “She was raised by a Teamster,” he said. “She saw what it means to have the right to organize, to earn a fair wage, and to retire with dignity.” 

Labor leaders like O’Brien face an existential dilemma. Just 10 percent of the workforce and only 6 percent of the private sector belongs to a union; organized labor needs to bolster its numbers to remain relevant. For the last two decades, these leaders have pinned their hopes on electing enough pro-union legislators so that they can rewrite labor law to make organizing easier or even automatic.

From this perspective, the PRO Act is ideal legislation. And despite its name, its main provisions would roll back individual workers’ rights. The bill would give union bosses more power to force workers to join unions by eliminating right-to-work laws. If PRO passed, workers in 27 states would lose their ability to opt out of paying union dues if they felt that the union didn’t properly represent them. They would have to pay up or be fired.

The legislation also would effectively ban many freelance gigs by redefining the term “contractor” and restricting businesses’ ability to employ such workers. Though this would curtail workers’ ability to earn side income, it would be a boon to unions, since freelancers are harder to organize than workers tied to a single employer.

Finally, the PRO Act would require employers to turn over employees’ personal contact information—their home addresses, phone numbers, email contacts—to unions making an organizing bid. Workers would have no right to tell their employer to keep the information private.

Lawmakers have introduced various versions of the PRO Act over the last few Congresses, never successfully. Republicans have opposed it, and Democrats who have publicly backed it have gotten cold feet about passing something so radical. The PRO Act would face an even rockier road in a GOP-led Congress. While rumors circulate of efforts to produce a slimmed-down version that could win Republican support, nothing has so far emerged. Chavez-DeRemer represents a ray of hope for union leaders that the bill could get back on track. 

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