diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-labels.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-labels.yml
index 04e1c76..6ccfbf6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-labels.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-labels.yml
@@ -10,7 +10,14 @@ jobs:
     permissions:
       pull-requests: write # Grant permission to modify labels
     steps:
+      # step 1: checkout repository code
+      - name: Checkout code into workspace directory
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      # step 2: remove specific labels
       - name: Remove specific labels
-        run: gh pr edit ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} --remove-label "ready,deployed"
+        run: |
+          gh pr edit ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} --remove-label "ready" || true
+          gh pr edit ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} --remove-label "deployed" || true
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}