Labor secretary skips culinary union meeting
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is slated to speak at this year's Teamsters Unity conference on Tuesday in Las Vegas — but during a Monday listening-tour swing through Nevada, she skipped over the largest union in the state.
The Culinary Workers Union and its 60,000-strong membership has historically been a Democratic powerhouse, but it hailed President Donald Trump's campaign pledge to eliminate taxes on tips.
And as union spokesperson Bethany Khan told Semafor: 'The Culinary Union would have taken a meeting if requested' during Chavez-DeRemer's tour. Khan said the organization hasn't heard from anyone at the Labor Department.
Chavez-DeRemer's choice to skip meeting with the Culinary Union comes as congressional Republicans air some skepticism about their ability to add Trump's new tax pledges — he's called for eliminating taxes on Social Security and overtime as well as tips — to the already-high cost of extending his 2017 tax cuts.
A spokesperson for the labor secretary said Chavez-DeRemer 'is enjoying hearing from unions, workers, and employers alike during her America at Work listening tour, and she welcomes the opportunity to engage with unions as the tour continues.'
Her stops on Monday included a tour of the Aviation Institute of Maintenance's facilities and a roundtable with the Nevada Hispanic Business Group as part of an effort to 'hear more about the challenges and opportunities facing everyday Americans at work.'
Last week, Chavez-DeRemer joined union leaders of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Pennsylvania with Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa.
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