Beyond the Rhetoric: Is the Labor Secretary Really Helping Workers?

U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer is hitting the road, promising to amplify the voices of America’s forgotten workers. Launching her 'America at Work' listening tour in Northeastern Pennsylvania, she’s meeting with union members, employers, and community leaders. It’s a compelling image: a high-ranking official stepping out of Washington’s bubble to hear from the people who keep this country running. But beneath the polished rhetoric lies a hollow gesture, one that prioritizes photo ops over the transformative action workers desperately need.

The tour’s stated mission, to shape federal labor policies based on real-world experiences, sounds noble on paper. Who could argue against listening to those on the ground? Yet the reality is far less inspiring. This administration, led by President Trump, has a track record of sidelining the very workforce it claims to champion, favoring corporate interests over tangible protections for everyday Americans. Workers aren’t asking for a microphone; they’re demanding a megaphone, one that translates their struggles into policies with teeth.

Take Northeastern Pennsylvania, the tour’s kickoff spot. This region, battered by decades of industrial decline, doesn’t need another roundtable discussion hosted by local officials. It needs investment, not platitudes. The people here, from steelworkers to healthcare aides, have been shouting about job losses, stagnant wages, and crumbling infrastructure for years. If Chavez-DeRemer truly wants to listen, she’ll hear a resounding call for action that her administration seems unprepared to deliver.

Workers today face a labor market teetering on the edge. Automation threatens to render 44% of current skills obsolete by 2028, according to projections, while federal layoffs under the Department of Government Efficiency have slashed 25,000 jobs. Meanwhile, union activity has surged 40% since 2021, a clear sign that employees are fed up with being left behind. Chavez-DeRemer’s priorities, like fostering partnerships between businesses and educators or promoting apprenticeships, aren’t wrongheaded. They’re just woefully inadequate.

Apprenticeships, for instance, hold real promise. Expanding into fields like renewable energy and IT, these programs offer paid training and credentials at little cost to participants. Pennsylvania’s own Keystone Development Partnership has shown how unions and employers can build career ladders in industries like transit. But without robust federal funding and oversight, such initiatives remain patchwork solutions, unable to scale to the national crisis at hand. Workers need a government that invests in their future, not one that pats itself on the back for hosting a conversation.

Then there’s the administration’s obsession with cutting red tape. Supporters argue it unleashes innovation, pointing to the $154 billion in GDP losses tied to regulatory burdens globally. Small businesses, they say, are choking under compliance costs, with 57% citing it as a growth barrier. Fair enough; no one wants pointless bureaucracy. But slashing regulations often comes at a cost to workers’ rights, like fair wages and safe conditions. Pay transparency laws, now spreading across states, prove that smart oversight can close wage gaps without strangling employers. The tour’s rhetoric about empowering job creators rings hollow when it ignores this balance.

Historical precedent backs this up. The Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933 didn’t just listen to workers; it built a network of employment offices to connect them with jobs during the Great Depression. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 pushed sector-specific training to meet modern demands. These weren’t feel-good tours; they were bold interventions. Today’s workers deserve no less, yet Chavez-DeRemer’s itinerary feels more like a campaign trail than a policy overhaul.

And let’s not kid ourselves about 'Made in America' jobs. Yes, 10,000 manufacturing positions sprouted in February 2025, thanks to reshoring and Trump’s trade policies. But tariffs are also disrupting supply chains, with companies like Stellantis pausing production and laying off U.S. workers. The Small Business Administration’s regulatory cuts might help small manufacturers, who make up 99% of the sector, but without addressing skilled labor shortages, this growth is a house of cards. Workers need training, not just slogans.

Here’s what’s at stake: a workforce empowered not just to survive, but to thrive. That starts with a government unafraid to wield its authority for the public good. The reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, currently underway, offers a chance to integrate training with social programs, like Utah’s 'One Door' model that’s streamlined services. Pair that with massive investments in apprenticeships and partnerships, and you’ve got a blueprint for real prosperity, not just for CEOs, but for the people clocking in every day.

Opponents will cry socialism or overreach, claiming businesses need freedom to innovate. They’re not entirely wrong; excessive red tape can stifle growth. But the answer isn’t deregulation for its own sake; it’s regulation that works. Workers aren’t begging for handouts; they’re demanding a fair shot at jobs that pay enough to live on, in industries that won’t vanish overnight. Chavez-DeRemer’s tour could be a spark, but only if it ignites a fire of action, not a flicker of empty promises.