Latest news with #PROAct
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State leaders to advocate for employees as Pratt & Whitney strike enters fifth day
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The strike at Pratt & Whitney has entered its fifth day. This comes after contract negotiations between the company and the machinists' union fell through. Some state leaders are expected at the picket line Friday to show their support. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) will be in Middleton, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is expected in East Hartford. Pratt & Whitney employees strike over new contract in East Hartford He'll be holding a press conference from the strike line about the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, which aims to strengthen union organizing rights and protections for workers. Around 3,000 machinists and union members are on strike across the jet-engine maker's Middletown and East Hartford locations. The workers are made up of members of the International Association of Machinists and the Aerospace Workers Union. 'It's about retirement security. It's about wage security. It's about treating us with respect. The company makes a lot of money,' Howard Huestis, President of Local Lodge 1746, said. They say that the security they're asking for is about pensions and ensuring that the company does not move its operations out of Connecticut. 'If they manufacture the engine somewhere else that the Connecticut middle class that's leaving with it,' Walter Polchlopek with Electronic System Services said. Earlier this week, Pratt & Whitney released a statement reading in part: 'Our message to union leaders throughout this thoughtful process has been simple: higher pay, better retirement savings, more days off, and more flexibility. We have no immediate plans to resume negotiations.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead Labor Department that faces DOGE challenges, investigation backlog
Lori Chavez-DeRemer was confirmed Monday as secretary of labor, taking the reins of an agency already struggling to enforce employee rights — and grappling with new outside attempts to access confidential data about the nation's workers. The Senate voted 67 to 32 to confirm the one-term Republican House member from Oregon— among the stronger showings of bipartisan support for one of President Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees. She is one of eight women out of 22 Cabinet nominees in this administration. Chavez-DeRemer was one of the president's more unconventional picks because of her pro-labor voting record. Some fellow Republicans criticized her for previously supporting the PRO Act, a bill that would have repealed state laws that allow workers to choose whether to opt into a union and pay dues. She faced questioning from Democrats over issues like the minimum wage and paid leave, as well as her potential willingness to break with Trump's demands. Despite doubts about her nomination, she moved out of committee 14-9 after three Democrats voted to support her. The labor secretary oversees a department in charge of setting workplace regulations and policies, including those on unemployment and retirement plans, as well as creating standards for wages and overtime. The agency has been hit hard in recent years with staff shortages and investigation backlogs, and has functioned without an official leader since 2023 — Julie Su, Biden's pick for labor secretary, worked in an acting capacity after facing Senate nomination challenges from both sides of the aisle. DOL has recently come under review from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is primarily a cost-cutting effort that has also edged into sensitive data collection, including information housed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). DOGE leader and tech billionaire Elon Musk says he wants to access the bureau's data, which includes statistics about national employment and the Consumer Price Index. Experts say interference with BLS data would jeopardize the government's ability to produce accurate, transparent and confidential reports that are crucial to domestic and global economic health. Last month, a judge declined to block Musk's attempts to access Labor Department systems in a temporary ruling against the AFL-CIO — and DOGE had previously received approval to use software that could be used to export the agency's data, though it is unclear if Musk's subordinates have already accessed sensitive information. The department is supposed to operate under a strict confidentiality standard, allowing potentially vulnerable workers to file complaints without fear of retaliation. DOL also houses the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is meant to protect workers from hazardous conditions through investigations and accountability measures. Should Musk's group further slash an already depleted workforce within these branches or further open up sensitive data, the department's ability to investigate and create new rules would plummet. During her confirmation hearing in February, Chavez-DeRemer deferred on specifics about how she would deal with DOGE and other attempts to view private data, saying she had not yet been confirmed and fully briefed on the situation. 'If confirmed, I will support the Department of Labor,' she told Sen. Patty Murray, the Washington Democrat who pushed her on her willingness to break with Trump's administrative orders. 'I would protect the private information. On this issue, I have not been privy to those conversations with the president.' The post Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead Labor Department that faces DOGE challenges, investigation backlog appeared first on The 19th. News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday. Subscribe to our free, daily newsletter.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. Senate confirms former Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as labor secretary
Then-U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Oregon, listens to Portland business owner Ann Naughton while Portland Police Sgt. Aaron Schmautz looks on during a discussion in Oregon City in October 2024. Chavez-DeRemer was confirmed Monday as the next federal labor secretary. (Photo by Julia Shumway/Oregon Capital Chronicle) One-term Oregon congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer successfully turned her election loss and closer-than-typical relationship with some unions into a post in President Donald Trump's cabinet. The U.S. Senate voted 67-32 on Monday to confirm Chavez-DeRemer as secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, with 17 Democrats supporting her and three Republicans rejecting her nomination. It's a huge step up for Chavez-DeRemer, whose only political experience before her single term in Congress was losing two state House races and serving as mayor of the small Portland suburb of Happy Valley. Chavez-DeRemer tweeted that she was honored to be confirmed. 'As promised, I'll work tirelessly to put American Workers First by fighting for good-paying jobs, safe working conditions, and secure retirement benefits,' she wrote. 'Let's get to work.' Chavez-DeRemer, the daughter of a Teamster, actively courted support from unions during her unsuccessful reelection bid. More than 20 unions, most of them small local organizations, ultimately endorsed her, while Oregon's largest private sector union, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, supported both her and her election opponent, Democratic U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum. 'She's got more labor union endorsements than any Republican I've ever seen in my life,' House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said at an October campaign rally with Chavez-DeRemer. That wasn't enough for her to beat Bynum in Oregon's 5th Congressional District, which stretches from Bend to Portland and voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the two most recent presidential elections. But Chavez-DeRemer's labor ties — and her politically risky decision to endorse Trump after his last serious opponent dropped out and ahead of Oregon's May primary — paid off with a Cabinet promotion. Another late endorsement, her July 2024 decision to cosponsor the union-backed Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, led to scrutiny from Republican senators. Chavez-DeRemer signed onto the bill, which would have weakened state 'right-to-work' laws and allowed unions to collect money from all employees, after it was clear it wouldn't receive a hearing or vote. She disavowed it during a confirmation hearing last month, assuring Republicans that she supported the bill only because she was representing Oregon and that she supported their states' laws banning mandatory union membership. 'I signed on to the PRO Act because I was representing Oregon's 5th District, but I also signed on to the PRO Act because I wanted to be at that table and have those conversations,' Chavez-DeRemer said during the hearing. 'But I fully support states that want to protect their right to work.' Three Republicans — former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul, both of Kentucky, and Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina — voted against Chavez-DeRemer. McConnell said in a statement that Chavez-DeRemer had a record of pushing policies that force Americans into union membership and could continue Biden-era policies. 'Secretary Chavez-DeRemer will have a critical opportunity to put the interests of working families ahead of Big Labor bosses by empowering every American worker to join a union on their terms. I hope she takes it,' McConnell said. Oregon's two Democratic senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, voted against Chavez-DeRemer, but several other Democrats supported her nomination in both the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and on the floor. Both Democratic senators from Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire and Virginia voted for her, as did Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, Adam Schiff, D-California and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island. Chavez-DeRemer will be the first Oregonian to serve in a presidential cabinet since Bonneville Power Administrator Don Hodel, who served as President Ronald Reagan's secretary of energy and secretary of interior. Before Chavez-DeRemer, the most recent Oregon elected official to hold a cabinet post was former Portland Mayor Neil Goldschmidt, who served as President Jimmy Carter's secretary of transportation before becoming Oregon's governor. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Voice of America
11-03-2025
- Business
- Voice of America
Senate confirms Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Trump's labor secretary
The Senate voted Monday to confirm Lori Chavez-DeRemer as U.S. labor secretary, a Cabinet position that puts her in charge of enforcing federally mandated worker rights and protections as the White House is trying to eliminate thousands of government employees. Chavez-DeRemer will oversee the Department of Labor, one of several executive departments named in lawsuits challenging the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to order layoffs and access sensitive government data. The Labor Department had nearly 16,000 full-time employees and a proposed budget of $13.9 billion for fiscal year 2025. Some of its vast responsibilities include reporting the U.S. unemployment rate, regulating workplace health and safety standards, investigating minimum wage, child labor and overtime pay disputes, and applying laws on union organizing and unlawful terminations. Several prominent labor unions, including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, endorsed Chavez-DeRemer's nomination. The former Republican congresswoman from Oregon is the daughter of a Teamster, and during her one term in the House earned a reputation as pro-labor. The Senate voted to confirm Chavez-DeRemer 67-32, with 17 Democrats voting yes and three Republicans voting no. The Senate has now confirmed all but one of Trump's picks for his Cabinet. Its Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions had voted 14-9 in favor of her nomination last week, with all Republicans except Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky giving Chavez-DeRemer their support. Three Democrats on the committee — Senators John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire — voted with the majority. During her confirmation hearing before the committee, several Republican senators grilled Chavez-DeRemer about her decision to co-sponsor legislation that would have made it easier for workers to unionize and penalized employers who stood in the way of organizing efforts. She declined to explicitly state whether she still backed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, also known as the PRO Act. Chavez-DeRemer explained she had signed on as a co-sponsor because she wanted a seat at the table to discuss important labor issues. Under further questioning, she walked back some of her support of the bill, saying that she supported state "right to work" laws, which allow employees to refuse to join a union in their workplace. The PRO Act did not come up for a vote during her time in Congress, but the legislation was reintroduced in the House and Senate last week. "As we speak, Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies are stealing the American dream away from working families, rigging every lever of society in favor of the billionaire class," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "That's why we need the PRO Act, to empower hardworking Americans to bargain for better wages, benefits, and safer working conditions." During her time in Congress, Chavez-DeRemer also co-sponsored legislation to protect public-sector workers from having their Social Security benefits docked because of government pension benefits. That bill also stalled because it didn't have enough Republican support. Chavez-DeRemer walked a fine line during her confirmation hearing, attempting to appeal to both Democrats and Republicans. On the subject of whether the federal minimum wage was overdue for an increase, she said that she recognized it hadn't been raised from $7.25 an hour since 2009 but that she would not want to "shock the economy."
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate to vote on confirmation of Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead Labor Department
March 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote Monday on the confirmation of former U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon to lead the Labor Department. Chavez-DeRember, 55, is the next to last of the 22 Cabinet picks nearing confirmation. Elise Stefanik has been nominated for U.N. Ambassador and is currently a member of the U.S. House as the Republicans hold a slim 218-214 majority. A simple majority is needed for her to be confirmed with Republicans holding a 53-47 edge. The nomination of Chavez-DeRember, who served one two-year term in the House, cleared a procedural step in a 66-30 vote Thursday, with 15 Democrats voting with all Republicans except Ron Paul, a Republican serving Kentucky, to advance her nomination. Her nomination cleared the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee 14-9 on Nov. 27. Paul opposed her nomination in the committee but three Democrats voted for her. The Kentucky Republican has been critical of her support for pro-labor policies. She later retracked her support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, saying now she "fully" supported states that "want to protect their right to work." "If confirmed, my job will be to implement President Trump's policy division, and my guiding principle will be President Trump's guiding principle, ensuring a level playing field for businesses, unions and, most importantly, the American worker," the Oregon Republican said in her opening remarks. The department has about 16,000 full-time employees. Chavez-DeRemer lost her re-election bid in November. In January 2023, she was the first Republican woman to represent Oregon in the House. Chavez-DeRemer also lost twice for that seat in 2018 and 2018 in the general elections. The Fifth Congressional District, one of six in the state, includes the corner of Portland. Before serving in Congress, she was mayor and city council member in Happy Valley, Ore., which has a population of 25,000, from 2004 to 2018. With her husband, an anesthesiologist, she co-founded an anesthesia management company and opened several other medical clinics in the Pacific Northwest.
