The capitalist media is touting Trump’s labor secretary nominee, Oregon Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer, as a “pro-labor” Republican. She claims to support the right of workers to organize and is one of the few Republicans to back the PRO Act, a milquetoast measure that the Biden-Harris administration promised and subsequently failed to enact.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who spoke at last year’s Republican National Convention, praised the pick—calling Chavez-DeRemer a “champion for the American worker.” Does this mean that Trump 2.0 will be a pro-labor administration delivering four years of prosperity for workers?
Are Republicans “the party of the working class”?
Since Trump took the party’s helm, Republicans have sought to position themselves as “the party of the working class.” Trump was reelected in large part due to increased support from workers reeling after years of rampant inflation, declining real wages, and mounting debt under Bidenomics. Like his demagogic anti-establishment rhetoric, the appointment of Chavez-DeRemer is an attempt to conceal the real interests he’s fighting for.
At times during the campaign, Trump’s “pro-worker” mask slipped. During an interview livestreamed on X (formerly Twitter) in August, Trump and Elon Musk discussed illegally firing striking workers. “They go on strike and you say, that’s OK, you’re all gone. You’re all gone. So, every one of you is gone,” Trump said as the Tesla boss laughed and indicated his agreement.
Trump’s anti-worker record
Trump posed as a champion of the working class at campaign rallies, but he gave handout after handout to the bosses during his first term. He fought against increasing the national minimum wage, stacked the courts and NLRB with anti-union appointments, and opposed hazard pay for essential workers during the COVID pandemic. Trump’s last labor secretary, Eugene Scalia, was a corporate lawyer at union-busting firm Gibson Dunn and fierce opponent of organized labor.
Just like his Democratic counterparts, Trump didn’t attempt to repeal Taft-Hartley or other anti-labor legislation, choosing instead to protect and serve the interests of big business. Even if the supposedly “pro-labor” Chavez-DeRemer is confirmed as labor secretary, she will still be in charge of enforcing capitalist labor laws and regulations which are designed to defend the bosses and hamstring workers’ attempts to organize and fight back.
Ultimately, the Republican Party is a capitalist party and will serve the interests of that class, regardless of who leads the Department of Labor. Many workers have illusions in Trump, but he is incapable of fixing the economy and is no champion of workers’ rights. The fight for better wages, working conditions, and living standards will not be won by bureaucrats from government offices in Washington DC, but in the workplace, streets, and on the picket lines by workers ourselves.