LORI’S NEW LOW: Chavez DeRemer Talks Up Union Support, But “Didn’t Show Up” for Labor Hearings or Push Back on “Union Bashing” Colleagues

Oregon Capital Chronicle : "When her fellow Republicans… held a series of union-bashing meetings over the past year, Chavez-DeRemer didn't show up and join Democratic representatives in speaking up for unions."

"The state's largest unions, meanwhile, are starting to line up behind Democratic nominee Janelle Bynum"

Vulnerable Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer claims to pride herself on supporting unions, but when it comes to defending Oregon workers in the halls of Congress, the hypocritical Oregon lawmaker is nowhere to be found.

While her extreme Republican allies "held a series of union-bashing meetings over the past year… Chavez-DeRemer did not attend and publicly support labor," writes the Oregon Capital Chronicle.

Meanwhile, the state's largest unions, SEIU and UFCW - with a combined 102,000 members - are backing Democratic challenger Janelle Bynum, saying she is "the clear choice in this race… [who] has shown with her actions she is the working people's candidate."

DCCC Spokesperson Dan Gottlieb:
"Lori Chavez-DeRemer's perpetual failure to defend Oregon's union workers when it matters most makes it clear that her so-called 'pro-union' platform is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Oregonians are ready for Janelle Bynum, who will actually stand up for workers and get things done - not dodge hearings and avoid responsibilities like Chavez-DeRemer does."

Read more below.

Oregon Capital Chronicle: Oregon Rep. Chavez-DeRemer continues courting union support, skipped hearings on labor issues
Julia Shumway | August 8, 2024

• Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer continues to walk a fine line between appealing to labor unions and business interests that typically back Republicans.

• But when her fellow Republicans on the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee held a series of union-bashing meetings over the past year, Chavez-DeRemer didn't show up and join Democratic representatives in speaking up for unions.

• Chavez-DeRemer's 5th Congressional District seat could be pivotal to control of the House and is being targeted by national Democratic and Republican groups. Labor unions also are likely to influence the outcome. They are a powerful force in Oregon politics - each election cycle, they pour millions of dollars and thousands of hours of volunteer work to help primarily Democratic candidates get elected. As she fights to keep her seat in the closely divided district with more Democratic voters than Republicans, Chavez-DeRemer has made entreaties to organized labor.

• The state's largest unions, meanwhile, are starting to line up behind Democratic nominee Janelle Bynum, a state representative and owner of several McDonald's franchises in the Portland area. Bynum last week announced that she received an endorsement from Oregon's Service Employees International Union, SEIU, which represents 72,000 public sector employees and caregivers across the state. The state's largest private sector union, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, has more than 30,000 members and gave Bynum and her primary opponent their "greenlight" stamp, a non-exclusive indication that a candidate's values align with the union's.

• Renato Quintero, a longtime leader for SEIU Local 49, said in a statement provided by the Bynum campaign that the health care and building service workers represented by the union support lawmakers who support working people.

• "Janelle Bynum is the clear choice in this race - she has been with us on the picket line and in crafting policy at the Legislature," Quintero said. "She has shown with her actions she is the working people's candidate."

• But when other Republicans on the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee scheduled six meetings that devolved into union-bashing, Chavez-DeRemer did not attend and publicly support labor.

• She missed a June 12 meeting, titled "NLRB Overreach: Trampling on Workers' Rights and Fostering Unfairness," which Good began by decrying "big labor bias" and saying that "the American working class knows that unions are a tired, outdated remnant of yesteryear."

• She wasn't there for a May 22 meeting, "Big Labor Lies: Exposing Union Tactics to Undermine Free and Fair Elections," during which Republicans on the committee claimed that unions are formed by a minority of workers and outside agitators overriding the will of the majority of workers.

• She also missed a March meeting, "Safeguarding Student-Athletes from NLRB Misclassification," a December 2023 meeting, "Protecting Workers And Small Businesses From Biden's Attack On Worker Free Choice And Economic Growth" and a November meeting about which Good said the committee had a "mandate to stand up for America's workers and fight back against the agenda of radicalized unions."

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