Thea Mei Lee

@theameilee.bsky.social nails it: when exploitation is profitable, even the good companies lose. That’s why it’s on governments to build markets that don’t profit from abuse.

🎧 Listen to how smarter trade policy can level the playing field—and make decency a competitive advantage.
➡️ buff.ly/WiTrMxA

Check out @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social new podcast on trade policy!

Worth reading. Terrifying moment.

It’s official. We are being governed by a spoiled brat who cannot tolerate bad news and will attempt to dismantle a skilled government agency to hide the outcomes of his pathetic policy blunders. Luckily, the excellent career staff at BLS will provide integrity as long as they can.

Costs, Chaos, Corruption: The Household Impact of Trump's Tariffs YouTube video by Sen. Ben Ray Luján

Many thanks to Senators Cortez Masto and Lujan for convening an important conversation on Trump's trade and economic policies and how they are impacting American households, workers, and small businesses. www.youtube.com/live/GSOz6a9...

Looking forward to joining @lujan.senate.gov, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, and @adamposen.bsky.social tomorrow (6/10) at 1:30 for Spotlight Forum on Trump's trade policies. It will stream on Facebook Live:
www.facebook.com/events/73835...

Happy 105th birthday to the mighty and essential @dol.gov Women’s Bureau! Let’s double down and fund this important work, not gut it! #savewb

Twitter seems to be back up, but ILAB’s account isn’t there. Seems ominous to me. First they canceled our projects, then they encouraged staff to leave, now they have taken down our public interface.

Hey, I was looking for the X/Twitter account for my former DOL agency, @ilab.dol.gov (International Labor Affairs Bureau). It seems to have mysteriously disappeared. What the heck?? The agency still exists! People are still doing amazing work.

If you’re in DC, come by the Department of Labor tomorrow (5/28) at noon, 200 Constitution Ave steps! Support American workers and the dedicated DOL career staff!

Opinion | George Saunders: Shame on the White House

Powerful op-ed by George Saunders on the firing of our librarian of Congress: “Shame on all of us if we let these ignorant purveyors of cruelty reduce this beautiful thing we’ve built over these hundreds of years to a hollow, braying, anti-version of itself “

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/o...

A Panel Discussion with Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Gilbert B. Kaplan, and Thea Lee / X A Panel Discussion with Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Gilbert B. Kaplan, and Thea Lee

Glad to join @deluzio.house.gov, Gil Kaplan, and @stevenoverly.bsky.social for a great discussion at the #PoliticoTrade event.

x.com/i/broadcasts...

Trump Is Poised to Accept a Luxury 747 From Qatar for Use as Air Force One

During my time in govt, our Dept of Labor lawyers were super strict about gifts from foreign governments: nothing over $480, and even small gifts had to be cleared. Every scarf, platter, and keychain was approved by the ethics lawyers. This is appalling.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/11/u...

This is a generational moment. Every time labor has been knocked down, we get back up stronger than before.

Throughout the first 100 days of the Trump admin, America’s unions have been relentlessly fighting back against the billionaire takeover, and we’re winning.

What “America First” Could Cost Us As the Trump Administration forces the U.S. to retreat from labor-protection programs abroad, American workers might end up suffering, too.

Check out this excellent @newyorker.com article about the bumblng and self-defeating attempts by this administration to destroy DOL's international labor work -- and the staff, who are continuing to speak out despite the illegal threats against them. Worth a read!
www.newyorker.com/news/deep-st...

Trump’s Terrible Tariffs with Economist Thea Lee — Democracy in Color Thea Lee, economist and former deputy undersecretary for international labor affairs at the Department of Labor, provides insight to Trump’s economic madness and the global chaos unleashed. 

OUT NOW: The Tariffs 101 episode you need!

Economist @theameilee.bsky.social provides insight into Trump’s economic madness and explains what actual strategies in support of American workers and people of color could look like.

Listen now!

democracyincolor.com/podepisodes/...

We’re fighting back!
US labor groups sue over ‘ignorant’ cuts of programs fighting child labor abroad

Join this great webinar April 16 at 8:15 pm ET on Litigating Against DOGE! With @RepRaskin @SkyePerryman @LizShuler and others.

ula-aflcio.glueup.com/en/organizat...

Attacks on Immigrant Workers Undermine the U.S. Care Economy The United States has long been a place where families hoping for a better life could work to make those dreams a reality. As a direct result, their

The Trump administration's attacks on immigrant workers don’t just harm individual families—they undermine the care economy we all depend on. From child care to nursing homes, losing them means longer waits, higher costs, and a nation that fails its most vulnerable.

What’s the point of bringing jobs back to the United States if the administration is openly destroying unions, dismantling worker safety and wage and hour protections, and gutting child labor laws? Asking for a friend.

Today is the Hands Off protest in DC and around the country! I’ll be there. The only challenge is how to fit everything I want to say onto a two-sided posterboard. I got a big one!

Former OSHA Chief Dr. David Michaels: Closing OSHA Offices Will Increase Worker Injuries, Illnesses, Deaths In this exclusive op/ed for ISHN magazine, former OSHA leader says “closing OSHA area offices may be penny-wise, but it is well-beyond pound-foolish.”

Elon Musk has apparently declared war on worker safety.

In addition to destroying NIOSH, Musk's DOGE team is trying to close 11 OSHA offices. Ostensibly to save a small amount of money, this will disrupt the functioning of under-resourced offices, resulting in more injuries, illnesses and deaths.

US cuts to child labor programmes a ‘blow to core values’ say NGOs EXCLUSIVE: Fairtrade America, International Cocoa Initiative, and The Rainforest Alliance concerned by latest DOGE move to slash US government spending

Why cuts to @ILAB_DOL are a horrible idea....by Fairtrade America, the International Cocoa Initiative and The Rainforest Alliance.... #ChildLabor @alt-dol.altgov.info @theameilee.bsky.social
cocoaradar.com/us-cuts-to-c...

What Cuts to the Department of Labor Will Mean for You Imagine this: Thirteen-year-old children working the night shift cleaning the kill floors of meatpacking plants, their small hands barely able to hold the

New from @JulieSuLabor @tcfdotorg : Musk and DOGE are gutting @USDOL’s ILAB, which stops international companies from undercutting American workers by crushing worker rights and using forced and child labor. tcf.org/content/repo...

Mark is a brilliant and dedicated professional. He has delivered extraordinary outcomes for the U.S. government, workers, and business. He is a respected leader and a compassionate colleague. We all deserve so much better than this.

Global Working Conditions Matter for American Workers The Trump administration has cut programs that help prevent forced labor and child labor. This will suppress wages everywhere, including the U.S.

The cuts announced last week to ALL of the Department of Labor's international programs are both ignorant and self-defeating. Thanks to Julie Su and Katherine Tai for their excellent article in The American Prospect. prospect.org/labor/2025-0...

‘A Stain on Humanity’: What Canceled ILAB Grants Mean for Fashion Production The U.S. Department of Labor is axing $577 million in grants that strengthen workers’ rights and combat child and forced labor in global supply chains.

Another short-sighted and self-defeating move from DOGE. American workers and businesses can’t thrive in a global economy where workers’ rights are trampled and disrespected.
Https://www.yahoo.com/news/stain-humanity-canceled-ilab-grants-192842737.html

Broken Engagement: Interviews with those who have made — and remade — the U.S.’s policy towards China Broken Engagement: Interviews with those who have made — and remade — the U.S.’s policy towards China - Kindle edition by Davis, Bob, Barboza, David. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Broken Engagement: Interviews with those who have made — and remade — the U.S.’s policy towards China.

Exciting news for @thewirechina.bsky.social: our first ebook! 'Broken Engagement' by former WSJ senior editor @bobdavis187.bsky.social. It's a collection of terrific interviews with the US policy makers who have shaped China policy under 6 presidents. Enjoy! www.amazon.com/Broken-Engag...

Check out new e-book by @bobdavis187 on China policy across six administrations, including an interview with me outlining the evolution of China policy with respect to labor rights. Bob's thoughtful and probing questions create a complex and engaging read.