The National Labor Relations Board has certified the union election for hundreds of nurses at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison.
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Keith Sonderling, acting U.S. secretary of Labor, appears at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill on July 16, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Sonderling has been acting secretary of Labor since April 20, 2026 after Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned. (Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Labor Department on Thursday defended the agency’s major role in a broader drive by the administration to dismantle the Education Department.
Grilled by U.S. Senate Democrats, acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling stood behind the multiple interagency agreements, or IAAs, Education has so far signed with Labor, likening his agency’s functions in the transfer to a “firm that’s just consulting and helping them move these programs’ money, but not the actual programs themselves.”
The agreements — also made with the departments of Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Interior and Justice — are a main part of the plan by the Trump administration to axe the 46-year-old Education Department.
Sonderling appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions in his bid to serve as the next Labor secretary, where he touted his extensive DOL experience.
“Few people have had the opportunity to experience the department from so many different perspectives, from the outside in private practice, as a policy adviser, as an agency head, as an adjunct professor, as deputy secretary, as acting secretary, and now as the nominee for Labor secretary,” he said. “These experiences have prepared me to lead this department with a deep understanding of its mission, its people, and most importantly, the Americans we serve.”
The Floridian took on the role as acting secretary in April, after Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid misconduct allegations.
Sonderling was also named by the president in June to serve as acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and confirmed by the Senate in March 2025 as deputy Labor secretary.
The committee will vote July 23 on whether to advance Sonderling’s nomination to the full Senate.
At the hearing, a handful of Democrats dug into the Trump administration’s continued dismantling of the Education Department and Labor’s role regarding several of Education’s programs.
“Right now, you are working with (Education) Secretary (Linda) McMahon to take over the Department of Education programs to help Trump abolish that department,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who noted that Sonderling has built his “own anti-worker record at DOL.”
Murray pointed out that “it makes zero sense that DOL, an agency whose expertise is in supporting wage earners and job seekers, is being tasked now with taking over complex education programs from the Department of Education to help kindergartners and elementary school students.”
Through multiple IAAs, the Department of Labor is taking on expanded roles in administering Education’s programs surrounding elementary and secondary education; postsecondary education; and career, technical and adult education.
The Education Department has stressed in fact sheets that it would maintain its statutory responsibilities and oversight of the programs regarding the IAAs.
In the lower chamber, a package of 10 bills permanently transferring several of Education’s functions to other departments and largely reflecting many of the earlier IAAs advanced out of the House Committee on Education and Workforce on Wednesday.
Sonderling stood behind the administration’s efforts, saying “it makes a lot of sense” for DOL to handle more grant responsibilities and work with Education.
The nominee also emphasized that the interagency agreements are “not dealing with policy,” but instead with providing the Department of Education “a service.”
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, said the Trump administration’s scattering of education programs across the federal government, including at DOL, creates a system that’s “much more complicated and much less efficient, particularly for states and public school districts.”
But Sonderling argued that those programs “still all remain” at the Education Department and are “being run by career experts” at Education.
He added that “for efficiency purposes, we’ve moved a few tranches of employees to the Frances Perkins Building (DOL’s headquarters), where they all have their own offices, they all have their own computers, they have parking, and they are working out of that building.”
Pressed by Baldwin on any evidence the nominee will present that “transferring these programs to the Department of Labor has made anything better for students, teachers, parents,” Sonderling expressed his commitment to providing the senator with that data.
“There’s a right way to do reform — come to the committee and say, ‘Hey, look, this is in statute but there’s a better way to do it, so let’s work on a better way to do it,’” said Sen. Tim Kaine.
“The wrong way to do it is to treat the (Education Department) like it’s a furniture store and having a discount going out of business sale and hand off pieces willy-nilly to agencies that don’t have the expertise to deal with them,” the Virginia Democrat said.
“That’s my concern about what’s happening right now.”
Ahead of the vote, the health system challenged the eligibility of the hospital’s charge nurses to vote in the election. And after the vote, SSM filed objections to the conduct of the election with the National Labor Relations Board.
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A fast food restaurant advertises jobs on the first day of summer. The Economic Policy Institute found a handful of states that eased labor laws for teenagers during this year’s legislative sessions. (Photo by Robbie Sequeira/Stateline)
For some teenagers across the country, the summer is the first opportunity to gain work experience for their nascent resume.
In a handful of states, however, teens who find jobs will find fewer protections under child labor laws. Four states — Indiana, Nebraska, Washington and West Virginia — enacted laws this year that weaken child labor protections, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank. In all, 13 states had bills seeking to weaken those protections; some are still under consideration.
Another three states saw bills filed this year to increase child labor standards, with one state — Oregon — enacting a new law. Oregon now stipulates that state rules on the total hours a minor can work cannot be less restrictive than the federal Fair Labor Standards Act rules that were in effect on Jan. 1.
Among the states easing child labor laws this year, Nebraska established a lower minimum wage for 14- and 15-year-olds. West Virginia made changes that allow teens to work longer hours in youth apprenticeships and relaxed rules related to time working on hazardous work assignments.
Under a new Indiana law, the state’s Department of Labor will no longer be required to maintain the employer database for youth employment or require employers to participate in the database, meaning employers are not required to report that they employ workers younger than 18.
Washington state lawmakers made it easier for teens in approved work-based learning programs to work longer hours, doubling the daily limit from four hours a day for up to 20 hours a week, to eight hours a day for up to 48 hours a week for minors enrolled in those programs. West Virginia’s law also loosened guardrails for minors in youth apprenticeship programs and lowered the age for workers to sell alcohol in bars.
The Economic Policy Institute’s review, published this month, found that legislation seeking to roll back child labor protections follows four trends: lowering minimum wages for teen workers; making changes to youth apprenticeships, eliminating youth permits and weakening safeguards for teen child care workers.
A few other rollbacks remain pending in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bills in Florida, Massachusetts and Missouri proposed lowering youth wages but did not pass.
Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at rsequeira@stateline.org.
This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Wisconsin Examiner, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
Businesses say they are facing staffing challenges because many of the foreign workers they rely on through the summer tourism season haven’t arrived.
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The November Farm Foundation® Forum, Growing Together: Trends and Transformation in U.S. Agriculture Labor, highlighted some of the findings from a recent multi-day symposium that explored the future of the U.S. agricultural workforce. The symposium, held by Farm Foundation and the Economic Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, aimed to convene a network of researchers and stakeholders to engage in productive discussions focused on farm labor issues. The primary goal was to strengthen and enhance ongoing farm labor research.
This forum highlighted the critical importance of farm labor to the competitiveness of US agriculture, particularly for labor-intensive commodities like fruits and vegetables. The discussion was moderated by Michael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, and featured panelists: Philip Martin Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Davis; Andrew Padovani, senior research associate with JBS International; and Alexandra Hill, assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
The Forum covered a wide range of topics, including wage rates and competition, legislative and regulatory challenges, litigation and legal actions, mechanization and labor alternatives, and economic and demographic trends.
One point brought up was that there has been no significant agricultural labor reform since 1986, making it difficult to address current labor issues. Farmers must also contend with many new regulations, including those related to wage rates and worker protection. The impact of the Adverse Effect Wage Rate and competition with countries like Mexico was also discussed.
One solution to rising labor costs is a push toward mechanization, which brings about its own set of questions around adaptation to this change. In some cases, robotic harvesters are not yet fast enough or inexpensive enough to replace human hand pickers, but the gap may be closing fastest for crops like apples.
The H2-A program was also a large part of the discussion. The use of H-2A workers is increasing, but the program’s costs and regulatory requirements are significant. The anticipated impacts of the incoming administration on the potential for ag labor reform was also briefly discussed during audience question and answer session.
Overall, the Forum underscored the urgent need for comprehensive agricultural labor reform to ensure the sustainability and competitiveness of US agriculture. The discussions highlighted the complex interplay of wage rates, regulatory challenges, and the need for mechanization and alternative labor sources.
The two-hour discussion, including the audience question and answer session, was recorded and is archived on the Farm Foundation website.
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Farmworkers play an “essential role in keeping food on our tables,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack during opening remarks at a symposium held September 17-19, 2024, in Santa Cruz, California. The three-day event, “The Changing Landscape of Farm Labor Conditions in the United States: What the Future Holds and How to Prepare for It,” was hosted by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) and Farm Foundation. The symposium consisted of a two-day conference plus a one-day farm tour centered around the theme of U.S. agricultural labor conditions, challenges, and solutions. Dr. Jessica Crowe, chief of the Rural Economy Branch at the USDA’s ERS, along with ERS’s farm labor team, organized the event along four key themes:
In her opening remarks, ERS Assistant Administrator Kelly Maguire stressed that although critical to the Nation’s food security, “farm work is potentially hazardous and ERS data show that farmworkers receive lower wages when compared with nonsupervisory workers outside of agriculture.” Complicating the issue, both the private and government sector will need to “accelerate adaptation to a changing landscape of farm labor,” said Maguire. This will be necessary for the United States to remain competitive as a producer of labor-intensive commodities like fruit and vegetables, she said.
The symposium’s opening remarks continued with Secretary Vilsack highlighting that “the USDA, Department of Labor, and employers can all play a role in addressing systemic challenges” while emphasizing the importance of building “a system that works for everyone… by creating value and opportunity for employers and farmworkers.”
In his keynote address, Dr. Philip Martin, professor emeritus at the University of California-Davis, outlined three responses to rising farm labor costs: an increase in mechanization, an increase in the number of migrant workers with H-2A visas, and an increase in imported produce. However, questions remain as to the extent machines can lessen labor needs by commodity, the number of workers the U.S. will need in the future and where they will come from, and whether the U.S. can import more fruits and vegetables from Mexico, Central and South America.
After opening remarks, the first day’s sessions focused on the changing farm labor force, farmworker wages, workplace safety, and farmworker health. Presenters described the changing demographics of domestic crop workers as one that is aging, increasingly coming from Southern Mexico, and more likely to have at least one chronic health condition. In addition, the number of farmworkers on migrant H-2A visas continues to increase. Several speakers discussed farmworker wages from the perspective of the farmworker and farm owner. Audience members contributed to these discussions by considering how high costs of housing factor into the discussion on wages. With respect to H-2A wages, Dr. Zach Rutledge, assistant professor at Michigan State University, discussed the adverse effect wage rate (AEWR) including how the AEWR is calculated, problems with its calculation, whether the rate is too low or too high, and how changes to the AEWR would affect H-2A and non-H-2A farm wages.
Speakers discussed the impact of farmworkers being excluded from many federal workplace protection laws on farmworker well-being. State laws are patchwork with some states providing more protection for farmworkers than other states. For example, six states have implemented (or are finalizing) heat standards for agricultural workers while three states have regulations in place for wildfire smoke. Despite agricultural workers having fewer workplace protections at the federal level than other occupations, farmworkers are exposed to hazardous conditions including extreme weather, wild animals, hazardous plants, dangerous tools, hazardous chemicals, and poor living conditions. These risks found in the workplace can lead to injuries and illnesses that are often left untreated until the problem becomes severe. Dr. Brenda Berumen assistant professor at Texas State University, described several barriers that farmworkers face to seeking medical treatment including the high cost of care, unpaid sick leave to receive treatment (resulting in lost wages), long travel times to receive certain health services, and a lack of information and resources (including information in their native language).
The sessions on the second day focused on workforce development, technology, and the H-2A visa program. Advances in technological aids in orchards and fields, such as platforms used in apple orchards, can increase labor productivity while reducing injuries associated with previous picking methods. However, adoption rates are slow as the structure and architecture of existing orchards and fields have to adapt to the new technology. In addition, robotics in fields and orchards are continuing to advance, but have a ways to go before the technology is efficient enough to be cost effective. However, patents for artificial intelligence (AI) in agriculture have increased substantially in the past few years. It is yet to be seen how the increase in agricultural AI will impact farm labor.
The H-2A visa program is an increasing source of temporary agricultural labor. Presenters discussed the problems of the program, including scams and illegal fees associated with the recruitment of migrant workers, lack of oversight and accountability for employers who break laws tied to H-2A, and the tethering of farmworkers to employers by visa status. While speakers and audience members debated the impacts of H-2A wages on farmworkers and employers, overall, symposium attendees agreed that H-2A is a significant program that employers increasingly seek out to secure farm labor. Furthermore, attendees agreed that problems exist that can result in exploitation of farmworkers, during recruitment and employment. Dr. Kelly Maguire closed the symposium by thanking those involved who organized the three-day event, including the interpreters, reflecting on what was learned through formal and informal conversations, and encouraging attendees to continue to build on newly formed relationships and to nurture new perspectives and information gained during the symposium.
This post-event summary of “The Changing Landscape of Farm Labor Conditions in the United States: What the Future Holds and How to Prepare for It” symposium was written by Dr. Jessica Crowe, chief of the Rural Economy Branch in the Resource and Rural Economy Division in the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS).
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Although critical to the nation’s food security, farm work is potentially hazardous, farmworkers receive lower wages when compared with nonsupervisory workers outside agriculture, and many hired farm workers lack legal work authorization and access to basic public services. For the United States to remain competitive as a producer of fruit, vegetables, and other labor-intensive commodities both private and government institutions will need to accelerate adaptation to a changing landscape of farm labor.
An upcoming conference on farm labor seeks to strengthen ongoing farm labor research by convening and developing a network of researchers and stakeholders. The Changing Landscape of Farm Labor Conditions in the United States: What the Future Holds and How to Prepare for It conference will take place September 17 to 19, 2024, in Santa Cruz, California.
The conference is presented by the USDA Economic Research Service and Farm Foundation. It will cover four key themes: trends in the farm labor force, including worker migration and the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program; labor costs, farm worker conditions, and workforce development.
Visit https://farmfoundation.swoogo.com/farmlabor for more information and to register.
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