By JOSH BOAK and ZEKE MILLER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Working-class voters helped Republicans make steady election gains this year and expanded a coalition that increasingly includes rank-and-file union members, a political shift spotlighting one of President-elect Donald Trump‘s latest Cabinet picks: a GOP congresswoman, who has drawn labor support, to be his labor secretary.

Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her bid for a second term this month, despite strong backing from union members, a key part of the Democratic base but gravitating in the Trump era toward a Republican Party traditionally allied with business interests.

“Lori’s strong support from both the Business and Labor communities will ensure that the Labor Department can unite Americans of all backgrounds behind our Agenda for unprecedented National Success – Making America Richer, Wealthier, Stronger and more Prosperous than ever before!” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice Friday night.

For decades, labor unions have sided with Democrats and been greeted largely with hostility by Republicans. But with Trump’s populist appeal, his working-class base saw a decent share of union rank-and-file voting for Republicans this year, even as major unions, including the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers, endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in the White House race.

Trump sat down with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union leadership and members this year, and when he emerged from that meeting, he boasted that a significant chunk of union voters were backing him. Of a possible Teamsters endorsement, he said, “Stranger things have happened.”

The Teamsters ultimately declined to endorse either Trump, the former president, or Harris, the vice president, though leader Sean O’Brien had a prominent speaking slot at the Republican National Convention.

Kara Deniz, a Teamsters spokesperson, told the Associated Press that O’Brien met with more than a dozen House Republicans this past week to lobby on behalf of Chavez-DeRemer. “Chavez-DeRemer would be an excellent choice for labor secretary and has his backing,” Deniz said.

The work of the Labor Department affects workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employers’ rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities.

On Election Day, Trump deepened his support among voters without a college degree after running just slightly ahead of Democrat Joe Biden with noncollege voters in 2020.

Trump made modest gains, earning a clear majority of this group, while only about 4 in 10 supported Harris, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide.

Roughly 18% of voters in this year’s election were from union households, with Harris winning a majority of the group. But Trump’s performance among union members kept him competitive and helped him win key states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Chavez-DeRemer was one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act, which would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The measure would weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment.

Trump’s first term saw firmly pro-business policies from his appointees across government, including those on the National Labor Relations Board. Trump, a real estate developer and businessman before winning the presidency, generally has backed policies that would make it harder for workers to unionize.

During his recent campaign, Trump criticized union bosses, and at one point suggested that UAW members should not pay their dues. His first administration did expand overtime eligibility rules, but not nearly as much as Democrats wanted, and a Trump-appointed judge has since struck down the Biden administration’s more generous overtime rules.

He has stacked his incoming administration with officials who worked on the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” blueprint, which includes a sharp swing away from Biden’s pro-union policies.

“Chavez-DeRemer’s record suggests she understands the value of policies that strengthen workers’ rights and economic security,” said Rebecca Dixon, president and CEO of National Employment Law Project, which is backed my many of the country’s major labor unions. “But the Trump administration’s agenda is fundamentally at odds with these principles, threatening to roll back workplace protections, undermine collective bargaining, and prioritize corporate profits over the needs of working people. This is where her true commitment to workers will be tested.”

Other union leaders also issued praise, but also sounded a note of caution.

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler welcomed the choice while taking care to note Trump’s history of opposing polices that support unions.

“It remains to be seen what she will be permitted to do as secretary of labor in an administration with a dramatically anti-worker agenda,” Shuler said.

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By JOSH BOAK and MATT BROWN
Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order for federal grants that will prioritize projects with labor agreements, wage standards, and benefits such as access to child care and apprenticeship programs.

Biden said the ideas in his order “are common sense.”

“Economists have long believed that these good job standards produce more opportunities, better outcomes for workers and more predictable outcomes for businesses as well,” he said from an Ann Arbor, Michigan, union training center where he made the announcement. “A good union job is building a future worthy of your dreams.”

The Biden administration is trying to make the case that economic growth should flow out of better conditions for workers. His administration has stressed the vital role that organized labor will likely play for Democrats in November’s election. In her matchup against Republican Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris is depending on backing from the AFL-CIO and other unions to help turn out voters in key states.

Biden has prided himself on his support of labor unions, joining striking Michigan union workers on the picket line last year. On Friday, he came on stage to chants of “Thank you, Joe!”

Trump has tried to make inroads with organized labor as well by having Teamsters President Sean O’Brien speak at the Republican National Convention. The Teamsters have yet to formally endorse any candidate, though Harris is expected to meet with them.

Some in the construction industry criticized the order for possibly increasing construction costs and excluding non-unionized workers from projects.

“These policies steer taxpayer-funded infrastructure contracts to unionized businesses and create jobs exclusively for union members at the expense of everyone else and the rule of law,” said Ben Brubeck, an executive with Associated Builders and Contractors, a construction industry trade group.

The order will establish a task force to coordinate policy development with the goal of ensuring more benefits for workers. The administration’s funding for infrastructure, computer chip manufacturing and the development of renewable energy sources has led to a wave of projects.

By the administration’s count, its incentives have prompted $900 billion worth of private-sector investments in renewable energy and manufacturing. Those commitments have yet to resonate much with voters who are more focused on the lingering damage caused by inflation spiking in 2022, but many projects will take several years to come to fruition.

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