A Labor Secretary Who Believes in Labor

Millions of Americans who suffered through eight long years of George W. Bush’s failed presidency were beyond excited to see President Obama inaugurated on January 20^th. Now, more than a month after that historic day, Americans who believe in workers’ rights have another reason to celebrate: Congresswoman Hilda Solis of California was confirmed this week as the new U.S. Secretary of Labor.

Secretary Solis will be replacing one of the most anti-worker labor secretaries in the nation’s history, Elaine Chao, who was President Bush’s longest serving cabinet secretary, heading the Labor Department for eight years. Secretary Chao’s legacy will not fare much better than that of the President she served under, having cut overtime pay for workers, gutted safety regulations, and presided over a shady mining disaster cover-up that attempted to cut short a government investigation of the fatal Crandall Canyon Mine collapse in Utah. This is not even to mention the endless and egregious list of worker protection duties she consistently shirked. Secretary Solis will be a welcome – and much needed – change in the Labor Department.

Secretary Solis has an outstanding record of supporting organized labor in Congress and has been an outspoken supporter of unions and the right to organize—advocating strongly for the Employee Free Choice Act. Ironically, it was her dedication to workers’ rights that caused backward-looking Republicans to hold up her confirmation in the Senate. Some Republicans were reluctant to confirm a Secretary of Labor who actually believes in labor unions. Perhaps after the past eight years they forgot that the Department of Labor’s mission is to protect the health and welfare of workers, not CEO’s.

Seventeen Republicans voted against her confirmation, but her unanimous support among Democrats and Independents, along with 24 Republican votes carried her through the Senate easily, despite the Draconian delay tactics workers have come to expect from Republicans in Congress. Secretary Solis’s confirmation has been highly anticipated by labor leaders throughout the country, including AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. He stated:

“She understands that the Employee Free Choice Act is critical to rebuilding our economy because working men and women deserve the freedom to choose whether to form a union without employer harassment and intimidation…

“Rep. Solis is uniquely qualified to help struggling families through these difficult economic times because she knows firsthand what they are going through. She grew up in a working class family and understands what programs our nation’s workers need the most.

“She will fight to improve skills development and job-creation programs, including development of ‘green collar’ jobs. She will work to assure that workers get the pay they have earned and that they work in safe, healthy and fair workplaces. She’s ready to address the retirement security crisis and will work hard to protect every worker from job discrimination, regardless of race, sex, veteran status or disability.”

As Secretary of Labor, Solis will be responsible for ensuring that workers have safe jobs, freedom from employment discrimination, unemployment insurance, and proper enforcement of minimum wage laws.

Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert Haynes praised the confirmation, saying,

“We worked incredibly hard to elect a President who knew that workers in this country needed a strong, passionate advocate as Secretary of Labor. Corporate America and its corrupt CEO’s have enough advantage without a Secretary of Labor who sides with them over workers. It’s heartening to see a person like Secretary Solis finally have the clearance to step in and stand up for America’s workers, and help us use our rights to organize and advocate for workers to rebuild the middle class and turn this economy around.”

As the child of working class immigrants both of whom were members of labor unions in California, Hilda Solis is uniquely qualified to lead the Department of Labor during the current economic crisis. With hundreds of thousands of jobs being lost every week and millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet, we desperately need someone who will fight for America's workers, not just the interests of CEOs.

Now that the counterproductive stalling by Republicans over her support of unions is behind us, Secretary Solis can get to work for working families.