White House Nomination Threatens Workers' Rights and Labor Laws

Debate Sparks Over Labor Department Solicitor Nominee

The nomination of Jonathan Berry for the position of solicitor at the U.S. Department of Labor has ignited a significant discussion regarding workers' rights in the United States. Berry, who has a history of controversial labor policy proposals, has been selected by the White House for this pivotal role.

Berry's past experience includes serving as the acting assistant secretary for policy at the Labor Department during the first term of the Trump administration. He is currently practicing law in the private sector. However, his authorship of a section in Project 2025 has raised concerns. According to the Economic Policy Institute, this section advocates for "weakening the federal minimum wage, limiting overtime eligibility, and undermining workers’ right to a union by forcing secret ballot elections." Additionally, the project proposes the use of child labor in hazardous conditions, as detailed by the Center for American Progress.

Project 2025 serves as a comprehensive 900-page plan that outlines significant changes to labor policies, which many argue would negatively impact working families and public services. More information on the project's implications can be found here.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is scheduled to hold Berry's confirmation hearing this Wednesday. If confirmed, Berry would assume the role of chief legal officer at the Labor Department, responsible for enforcing over 180 federal labor laws.

In a strongly worded letter to the HELP Committee, AFSCME expressed its opposition to Berry's nomination. The letter stated, “Jonathan Berry has clearly demonstrated that he lacks both the values central to workers’ rights and the legal judgment to serve as Solicitor of Labor. The proposals that he advanced in Project 2025 would cost workers their lives, wages, benefits, and basic freedoms.”