The first time I saw Lori Chavez-DeRemer speak at a community gathering in Clackamas County in 2016, I knew she would be able to use her experiences as Happy Valley Mayor to bring her constituents to new heights. Fast forward to 2024, and President Donald Trump saw exactly what I saw when he successfully nominated her to be US Secretary of Labor. A new Golden Age of America requires hard workers who are compensated and treated well, and President Trump is working hard with Secretary Chavez-DeRemer to make this a reality.
Federal labor laws that protect workers are being fully enforced. In the last week alone, a poultry processor in Georgia was foced to pay $385,000 in settlements for child labor law violations. $155,000 in wages and benefits were recovered for 19 employees underpaid by a Colorado contractor on a federally funded project. Another $155,000 was paid from a settlement against a roofing contractor who repeatedly exposed workers to fall and safety hazards.
Trump’s worker empowerment initiatives are not just about punishments for bad faith actors. Trump’s Labor Department is currently soliciting input on ways to help smaller employers improve retirement plan outcomes for their employees, which is one of the most powerful tools for giving American workers a stake in the US economy. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminates taxes on overtime and expands Pell Grants for trade schools.
The Department also just launched the Veterans Accommodation Toolkit, which offers tips and strategies on ways to enhance workplace supports and accommodations designed to facilitate the recruitment, hiring, training, and retention of disabled American veterans in apprenticeship and other employment settings. Expanding retirement plan availability, lowering taxes, and increasing veteran employment are paramount tools for economic growth.
President Trump has not made the best economic decisions as President, some of which will hurt American workers in the long run, especially the new tariff regime.
However, he put an extremely competent and worker-friendly Secretary of Labor in office. Together, President Trump and Secretary Chavez-DeRemer are fulfilling promises to the American worker to put labor front and center of the Golden Age of America.
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