I appeared with Matt Miller and Vonnie Quinn on Bloomberg TV's "The Close" on Thursday, January 16 to discuss several labor-related topics: the likelihood that President Trump's choice for Labor Secretary will be confirmed, the labor relations landscape in 2025, and the effect President Trump's proposed tariffs and mass deportation can be expected to have on the economy. Watch the video in this post.
Watch the video here:
We started with a discussion of President Trump's nominee for Labor Secretary Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer. I made a prediction about her confirmation chances, but I rejected Matt's suggestion that Trump's MAGA-world represents a new, more populist Republican Party. I offered my view, based on Trump's record as president, that he will be anti-union and appoint anti-union members and General Counsels to the National Labor Relations Board and the Federal Labor Relations Authority (I neglected to mention the National Mediation Board, but it will be true there, as well).
Then, I answered a surprising argument from a former regional Federal Reserve Bank president that tariffs and mass deportation of immigrants will not have inflationary effects. Listen to my answer and try not to be distracted by the amused/bemused look on my face. It's serious business. In the case of mass deportations, potentially tragic.
To learn more about what's coming in labor relations in 2025, please also read the Big Union Contract Fights Coming in 2025, originally published by our friends at Labor Notes and republished on Power At Work this week. In addition, my end-of-year assessment of collective bargaining in 2024, entitled Collective Bargaining Succeeds, Again: End-of-Year Grades for 2024 Negotiations, will be published on Sunday, January 19. So, come back to Power At Work to both pieces after you've watched this video.
