AFT’s Weingarten on Confirmation of Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor Secretary

AFT’s Weingarten on Confirmation of Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor Secretary

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after Lori Chavez-DeRemer was confirmed as U.S. secretary of labor:

“We will work with anyone who wants to embrace an opportunity agenda that helps workers and their families get ahead—that is in the DNA of the labor movement and of public education. Secretary Chavez-DeRemer has a big job; she must help her party decide if the Department of Labor will fulfill its original mission of promoting the interests of working people—including respecting collective bargaining and organizing—or whether it becomes captive to the interests of the oligarch class.

“Right now, in Congress, the secretary’s former colleagues are attacking union rights and gutting Medicaid, OSHA and Social Security to hand tax cuts to billionaires. Chavez-DeRemer’s legislative record and personal history suggest she supports the right of workers to advocate for their shared interests. As secretary, we hope she honors the legacy of Frances Perkins, rather than the diktats of Elon Musk.”