There’s a political fight going on inside the White House over who should be the next labor secretary. The outcome should matter a lot to conservatives, business leaders, and people who care about the competitiveness of the U.S. economy.
Democrats created the Labor Department decades ago to increase the power of big labor union bosses — just as they created the Education Department for the benefit of teacher unions.
An assortment of major issues will confront the labor secretary. Will right-to-work laws in half the states be upheld? Will union card check elections be allowed, a trick the union bosses have contrived to get around secret ballot elections, and instead bully workers into voting for union representation whether they really want it or not? A huge issue confronting businesses is whether the franchise rule will continue to allow the tens of thousands of small franchise owners of a Burger King or a Popeyes can operate independently, or whether unions and trial lawyers can sue the deep-pocketed franchisor for infractions. If that happens, kiss goodbye to the almost uniquely American model of small business franchise ownership.
Then there are issues related to racial and gender hiring preferences, climate change, and required fringe benefits that are at stake in this fight. Will the government be required to bail out underfunded union pension funds? Who will fight union corruption in the way tens of billions of dollars of union dues are spent? Will Uber drivers have to join a union? Should we have a $15, $20, or even $ 25-an-hour minimum wage that could put millions of Americans out of work?
We don’t want a labor secretary to be hostile to unions. But we also don’t want a union lapdog. We want someone who will be even-handed in sorting out issues of employers and union representatives.
The Labor Department should operate in the interest of all workers, not the select few who are members of unions. Remember, labor unions in America are increasingly irrelevant to the vast number of American workers. Some 94% of American private sector workers are not in a union. Let’s keep in mind what policies are best for the 94%, not the 6%. Unions are now only powerful in the government sector.
The right choice for labor secretary is the one right under President Donald Trump’s nose. That’s Keith Sonderling, who is now the acting labor secretary. He is pro-right to work. He will fight against the trial lawyers and the militant union bosses who have been hostile to Trump, even as rank-and-file union workers embrace Trump’s America First agenda. Sonderling is right that “Trump is the greatest president for American workers, including union workers,” in history. Not too many union leaders believe that, which is why upwards of 90% of their donations typically go to Democrats.
SONDERLING ACTING HIS WAY INTO PERMANENT ROLE ATOP LABOR DEPARTMENT
Sonderling understands that you can’t be pro-worker if you’re not pro-American business. Policies like tax cuts, deregulation, an America First drilling policy, and many others help workers and businesses.
Sonderling tells me that his mission will be to “help Donald Trump deliver higher wages, more jobs, and lower taxes taken out of worker paychecks.” Mr. President, there is no better choice.
Stephen Moore is an internationally known economist and author who has served as a senior policy adviser to Donald Trump in 2016 and 2024.