Andre Delattre is a senior vice president and the chief operating officer of the Public Interest Network (PIN), a nonprofit run by Doug Phelps which oversees a collection of left-of-center nonprofit and for-profit organizations. PIN’s most notable component is the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG), a left-of-center organization that oversees a network of state-based nonprofits. Delattre is the executive director of USPIRG and the USPIRG Education Fund, and has worked for PIRG and its affiliates in numerous capacities for over twenty years.

Delattre also sits on the executive committee of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition, a nonprofit that oversees a coalition of nonprofits devoted to ending tax avoidance schemes in America.

Career at PIRG

After attending L’Hotel Sofitel School of French Culinary Skills for a year, Delattre began studying at the University of California, Berkeley in 1986. Upon graduating in 1989, Delattre became a campus organizer for CALPIRG, the California branch of the PIRG network, on the campuses of Berkeley and the University of California, Los Angeles. Delattre recruited and trained students to volunteer and work for CALPIRG on political campaigns and other activism. In 1992, Delattre was promoted to campus organizing director where he oversaw campus organizers on eight California campuses for four years. ¹

In 1996, Delattre became the national campaign organizing director of Student PIRGs, a student-focused branch of the PIRG network. He oversaw campus organizing efforts on over 100 campuses in 12 states with 12,500 volunteers. Delattre also attracted funding to Student PIRG from numerous prominent left-of-center nonprofits, including the Carnegie Corporation, Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Open Society Foundations. ² Delattre served as campaign organizing director until 2014. ³

In 2007, Delattre became the executive director of US-PIRGand the US-PIRG Education Fund, the 501(c)(3) research affiliate of the organization. ⁴ In 2018, while still holding his position at US-PIRG, Delattre began working for the Public Interest Network itself as a senior vice president and the chief operating officer. ⁵

At some point in the 2010s, Delattre joined the executive committee of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition,⁶ in which US PIRG is a “steering committee member.” ⁷

Opposition to Labor Regulations

In 2016, a proposed labor regulation created by the Department of Labor under the Obama administration would have doubled the “overtime salary threshold,” which would require all companies (for-profit and nonprofit) to give employees whose annual salaries are below $47,476 time-and-a-half pay for all work past 40 hours per week. ⁸

Delattre acted as the spokesman for US-PIRG in publicly opposing the new rule on the grounds that nonprofits could not bear the imposed costs. ⁹ The organization normally supports business and labor regulations which align with labor unions and ostensibly provide nominal benefits to workers. However, US-PIRG’s public statement claimed that it would have to hire fewer workers and pay them less, and in doing so, would be less able to support more strident regulations on large corporations. ¹⁰

US-PIRG faced public backlash for its unexpected opposition to the rule on Twitter,¹¹ Medium,¹² and in the Washington Examiner, which called US PIRG’s position an “ironic development for the Obama administration.” ¹³

1. “Andre Delattre.” Linkedin. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andredelattre/.
2. “Andre Delattre.” Breaking Through Power. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://www.breakingthroughpower.org/speakers/andre-delattre/.
3. “Andre Delattre.” Linkedin. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andredelattre/.
4. “Andre Delattre.” Linkedin. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andredelattre/.
5. “Andre Delattre.” Linkedin. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andredelattre/.
6. “Andre Delattre.” US PIRG. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/usp-staff/index.html.
7. “National Campaign Director, Tax & Budget Program.” US PIRG. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://jobs.uspirg.org/tax-budget-campaign-director.html.
8. Jamieson, Dave. “Obama is Bringing Overtime Pay to Millions of Workers.” Huffington Post. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/obama-overtime-pay_n_5727b961e4b0bc9cb0442db9.
9. “Liberal Advocacy Group Comes Out Against Obama’s Big Overtime Rule.” Huffington Post. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/obama-overtime-rule_n_57431db8e4b045cc9a7178cd.
10. “Statement on the Overtime Rule.” US PIRG. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://uspirg.org/news/usp/statement-overtime-rule.
11. “Liberal Advocacy Group Comes Out Against Obama’s Big Overtime Rule.” Huffington Post. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/obama-overtime-rule_n_57431db8e4b045cc9a7178cd.
12. “This ‘Progressive’ Non-profit Wants To Continue Exploiting Its Employees.” Medium. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://medium.com/@publicinterestprimer/this-progressive-non-profit-wants-to-continue-exploiting-its-employees-5b3819902bc4.
13. Higgins, Sea. “Liberal nonprofit federation opposes new overtime rule.” Washington Examiner. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/liberal-nonprofit-federation-opposes-new-overtime-rule.