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Tag: Marty Walsh

  • Key Senate Democrats won’t say whether they’ll back Biden nominee for labor secretary Julie Su

    Key Senate Democrats won’t say whether they’ll back Biden nominee for labor secretary Julie Su

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    President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the next labor secretary, Julie Su, will be testifying before the Senate Thursday with key Democrats unwilling to voice support for her confirmation, creating uncertainty about her prospects in the narrowly divided chamber.

    A handful of moderate Democrats have not publicly stated whether they’ll vote for Su’s nomination ahead of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Biden in February picked Su to replace Marty Walsh, the former mayor of Boston, as labor secretary.

    Su, a civil rights attorney and the current deputy labor secretary, is the daughter of an immigrant mother who arrived on a cargo ship. She would be the first Asian American in the Biden administration to serve in the Cabinet at the secretary level. Biden called her path proof of the “American dream” and said that “she’s committed to making sure that dream is in reach for every American.”

    Su was previously confirmed as the deputy labor secretary, but she has faced opposition from business groups critical of her record leading California’s labor department. They point to her support of an overturned California law that would have required app-based ride hailing and delivery companies like Uber and Lyft, as well as trucking businesses, to treat their workers as employees, providing benefits like paid sick leave and unemployment insurance, rather than independent contractors.

    Su has also faced blame for problems at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency during the coronavirus pandemic when unprecedented numbers of people applying for unemployment benefits faced long wait times and the state potentially paid out billions of dollars in fraudulent claims.

    Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin, Jon Tester and Mark Kelly and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent, all declined to say whether they would vote for her confirmation this week. Democrats cannot afford to lose more than a couple votes in a Senate divided 51-49. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, is also recovering from shingles in California, with no firm return date.

    Manchin repeatedly declined to comment on Su’s nomination this week; Tester said he would meet with her after the meeting to “make sure she’s still right”; Kelly said he did not have concerns about her record but added he does not preview his votes; Sinema said through a spokeswoman that she does not preview votes.

    Su was confirmed by the Senate to her current role in 2021 by a 50–47 vote.

    Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she voted against Su’s confirmation in 2021 because of “how she had handled the unemployment compensation issues in the state of California.”

    Top Democrats, meanwhile, have signaled their support for Su with meetings at the Capitol this week.

    At a meeting with Su on Monday, Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, pointed to her work on job growth and said, “She’s done a good job, and I think she’s got a two-year track record that is strong.”

    Late last year, Su was central to negotiations between labor and freight rail companies and helped avoid an economically debilitating strike. She has also led efforts to crack down on wage theft.

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  • Biden nominates Julie Su as next labor secretary

    Biden nominates Julie Su as next labor secretary

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    Washington — President Biden is nominating Julie Su, the current deputy and a former California official, as his next labor secretary, replacing the departing incumbent, former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.

    Su, a civil rights attorney and former head of California’s labor department, was central to negotiations between labor and freight rail companies late last year, working to avert an economically debilitating strike. She also has worked to broaden worker training programs and crack down on wage theft. If confirmed by the Senate, Su would also be the first Asian-American in the Biden administration to serve in the Cabinet at the secretary level.

    In a White House ceremony Wednesday morning, the president thanked Walsh for sticking by his side, and praised Su and her qualifications. 

    “Julie knows in her bones the people who get up early every morning to go to work and bust their necks just to make an honest living deserve something, someone to fight at their side,” Mr. Biden said. “Give them an even shot, just a shot, so they don’t get stiffed.” 

    The president described how Su, the daughter of immigrants from China, including a union worker mom, went on to law school. 

    “Julie is the American dream,” Mr. Biden said, to cheers and applause. “More importantly, I think even more importantly, she’s committed to making sure that dream is within the reach of every American.” 

    The senior liaison at the White House for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities, Erika Moritsugu, issued a statement praising the choice of Su to be labor secretary.

    “She will work to build a community where no one feels invisible and help the President “finish the job” he started when he was elected,” Moritsugu said. “As a daughter of immigrants from China, Julie represents the American Dream and its promises. May she inspire our sisters and daughters to realize their fullest potential and give back to the community and contribute to the success of our great nation.”

    Su was considered to lead the department when Mr. Biden won the White House but instead became the department’s deputy. Walsh announced his intention to leave the administration earlier this month to lead the National Hockey League Players’ Association. Su will serve as the acting secretary until the Senate acts on her nomination.

    White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton did not directly answer whether the White House is concerned that Sen. John Fetterman’s ongoing absence will hold up Su’s confirmation. Fetterman is being treated for depression. Dalton reiterated the president and first lady support Fetterman’s decision to seek help.

    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate “will work quickly to consider her nomination.” 

    Julie Su speaks during a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on March 16, 2021, in Washington.
    Julie Su speaks during a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on March 16, 2021, in Washington.

    Alex Brandon / AP


    Mr. Biden had been under pressure from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and other Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) advocates to select Su to head the department. This administration was the first in more than two decades to not have a Cabinet secretary of AAPI descent, despite its regular declarations that it was the most diverse in history. Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai are of AAPI descent but don’t lead a Cabinet department.

    Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat of Hawaii, said she was “delighted” by the selection.

    “I’ve been supporting Julie for that position since before since the very beginning,” she told reporters on Capitol Hill. “I was very much supporting her, and it looks like it’s going to happen, so I’m delighted.”

    Su, if confirmed, would also expand the majority of women serving in the president’s Cabinet. She was confirmed by the Senate to her current role in 2021 by a 50–47 vote.

    Alan He contributed reporting.

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  • Biden to nominate Julie Su as next US labor secretary

    Biden to nominate Julie Su as next US labor secretary

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is nominating Julie Su, the current deputy and former California official, as his next labor secretary, replacing the departing incumbent, former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.

    Su, a civil rights attorney and former head of California’s labor department, was central to negotiations between labor and freight rail companies late last year, working to avert an economically debilitating strike. She also has worked to broaden employee training programs and crack down on wage theft. If confirmed by the Senate, Su would also be the first Asian American in the Biden administration to serve in the Cabinet at the secretary level.

    Biden, in a statement on Tuesday, called her a “champion for workers.”

    “Julie is a tested and experienced leader, who will continue to build a stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive economy that provides Americans a fair return for their work and an equal chance to get ahead,” he said. “She helped avert a national rail shutdown, improved access to good jobs free from discrimination through my Good Jobs Initiative, and is ensuring that the jobs we create in critical sectors like semiconductor manufacturing, broadband and healthcare are good-paying, stable and accessible jobs for all.”

    Su was considered to lead the department when Biden won the White House but instead became the department’s deputy. Walsh announced his intention to leave the administration earlier this month to lead the National Hockey League Players’ Association. Su will serve as the acting secretary until the Senate acts on her nomination.

    Biden had been under pressure from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and other Asian American and Pacific Islander advocates to select Su to head the department. This administration was the first in more than two decades to not have a Cabinet secretary of AAPI descent, despite its regular declarations that it was the most diverse in history. Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai are of AAPI descent but don’t lead a Cabinet department.

    Su, if confirmed, would also expand the majority of women serving in the president’s Cabinet. She was confirmed by the Senate to her current role in 2021 by a 50–47 vote.

    Su’s nomination drew swift support from Democrats on Capitol Hill, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer saying she would be “phenomenal” in the job.

    “The president couldn’t have picked a better nominee,” he told reporters. “I’m really excited about her, and we’re going to move to consider her nomination very, very quickly.”

    Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who will preside over Su’s confirmation hearing as chair of the Senate health, education, labor and pensions committee, praised the selection. Sanders had urged consideration of Sara Nelson, the president of the flight attendants union, but made clear Su had his strong support.

    “I’m confident Julie Su will be an excellent Secretary of Labor,” he tweeted. “I look forward to working with her to protect workers’ rights and build the trade union movement in this country.”

    But Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate health, education and labor committee who opposed Su when she was selected for deputy secretary, called her work overseeing the department “troubling” and “anti-worker.”

    The committee should “have a full and thorough hearing process,” Cassidy said.

    Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., who chairs the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said she was “overjoyed” by the selection, thanking Biden in a tweet for “nominating your first AAPI Cabinet Secretary!”

    “It certainly is better late than never,” Chu said in a brief interview, citing CAPAC support for Su two years ago for the top Labor post and praising Su’s credentials as a leader and enforcer of labor laws including minimum wage and occupational safety standards. She said GOP criticism about Su had been fully vetted two years ago and that the coming confirmation process will show their charges “have no basis.”

    Chu noted that Biden had said he would name a Cabinet that looked like America, and “he fulfilled that promise.”

    Su’s nomination also comes at a key moment for labor unions, which have been facing a decline in membership for decades. Unions gained some momentum as workers at major employers such as Amazon and Starbucks pushed to unionize. But Biden — an avowed pro-union president — had to work with Congress to impose a contract on rail workers last year to avoid a possible strike.

    The Labor Department said just 10.1% of workers last year were union members. That figure has been cut nearly in half since 1983 and could fall further, as younger workers are less likely to belong to unions.

    “There’s no one more dedicated and qualified to defend the fundamental rights of working people than Julie Su,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “It’s her life’s work.”

    ___

    Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Mary Clare Jalonick and Hope Yen in Washington contributed to this report.

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  • Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus calls on Biden to tap Julie Su to replace Walsh as Labor secretary | CNN Politics

    Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus calls on Biden to tap Julie Su to replace Walsh as Labor secretary | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is throwing its support behind Julie Su, the deputy Labor secretary, to replace Labor Secretary Marty Walsh who is soon departing the Biden administration – a significant public display of support for an Asian American to join President Joe Biden’s Cabinet.

    “We remain troubled that the Administration has no Secretary-level AANHPI official serving in the Cabinet, the first time we have not had representation at this level since 2000,” CAPAC said in a statement shared with CNN. “President Biden has the opportunity to better realize the ‘most diverse Cabinet in history’ with the elevation of Deputy Secretary Su. CAPAC urges him to seize that opportunity by nominating Julie Su as our next Secretary of Labor.”

    US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, whose parents emigrated from Taiwan, is the only Asian-American woman who is currently in a Cabinet-level position under Biden.

    Walsh is expected to depart the Biden administration soon, according to two people familiar with the matter, marking the first Cabinet secretary departure of Biden’s presidency. Walsh has been offered a job heading the National Hockey League Players’ Association, the people said. His departure has not been officially announced.

    CAPAC’s endorsement of Su to be the next Labor secretary is part of a broader effort in recent years by Asian-American lawmakers to push the Biden White House to appoint more people of Asian backgrounds to high-ranking positions within the administration.

    Early on in the Biden administration, Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Mazie Hirono threatened to vote against Biden’s nominees who weren’t minorities, as they expressed their displeasure at the lack of Asian Americans in the Cabinet. Duckworth went as far as to say that the White House’s attempts to address her concerns about AAPI representation were “insulting.”

    “To be told that you have Kamala Harris, we are very proud of her, you don’t need anybody else, is insulting,” Duckworth said, adding she had been told that “multiple times” by the White House.

    The White House ultimately agreed to add a senior Asian American and Pacific Islander liaison, and the two senators dropped their threat.

    Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington and a member of CAPAC, told CNN on Wednesday that choosing Su to replace Walsh would “fill a gaping hole in the lack of AAPIs at the Cabinet secretary level,” and that she had recently “weighed in personally” on the matter.

    “Julie is someone who knows how to navigate the DOL. She will ensure that DOL is doing all it can to support and advance workers wages, rights, and benefits on the job,” Jayapal added.

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  • The Circuitous Path Of The Railroad Unions’ Negotiations

    The Circuitous Path Of The Railroad Unions’ Negotiations

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    Earlier this summer the U.S. economy narrowly averted a strike in the freight railroad industry. However, despite reaching a contract settlement with the assistance of the White House, it appears that these contracts could unravel, and primarily due to the unwillingness of some labor leaders to accept the terms of contracts they negotiated.

    The mechanics of the negotiations with the unions and railroads are somewhat complicated: There are a dozen different unions representing the 120,000 or so men and women who do the heavy lifting of keeping the railroads moving, and each union has been renegotiating contracts in earnest since 2021. Technically, rail contracts never expire under the Railway Labor Act—they are simply amended.

    Besides desiring higher wages, the workers were desirous of more flexibility in their work hours, especially with regard to obtaining time off for doctors’ appointments or other health care issues. Because of the fact that it is difficult for railroads to hew to a predictable schedule (although it’s an issue that railroads have invested heavily to address), certain occupations like conductors and engineers can have a somewhat unpredictable work schedule, which can make scheduling such quotidian but necessary tasks as a doctor’s appointment complicated.

    By last summer nine of the twelve unions had reached an agreement, but negotiations between the railroads and the last three unions stalled and appeared to be heading towards a strike.

    Since each of the 12 rail unions refuse to cross the picket lines of another union, a strike by any one union would have resulted in a widespread shutdown of the country’s freight rail network. Given that a half million carloads of goods travel by rail each week, this potential shutdown constituted a major threat to the health of the nation’s economy.

    Shortly before the contractual deadline passed, the White House—led by Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh—entered the negotiations and helped broker a last minute agreement that averted a strike.

    However, the unions still had to ratify the agreement, and that may be more difficult than the White House anticipated. While six of the twelve unions quickly ratified their contracts—which provided for a 24 percent wage increase, a $5,000 signing bonus, more flexibility in work schedules, paid days off, and other expanded benefits—a track workers’ maintenance union rejected their contract.

    They did so despite the fact that the raises specified in the contracts would put railroad workers amongst the highest paid blue collar workers in the world, with average union wages topping $110,000 before overtime and reaching $160,000 total with benefits. That union also secured what it long stated was its top priority – increased travel reimbursement.

    One contributing factor for these rejections is that the leadership in some larger unions, after negotiating an agreement, refused to recommend that its members ratify the contract. Many members may interpret this as a nudge to vote against the contract. Puzzlingly, the leader of the union that rejected their deal was positive about it when sent out for vote, but is now singing a different tune.

    While the recent rejection does not necessarily portend a strike—the unions agreed to wait until after Congress is back in session before voting on a strike, and negotiations continue— leadership’s abdication on a vote recommendation suggests that the White House negotiations may not have been done in good faith.

    Union leadership that negotiates an agreement has an obligation to recommend to its rank and file members that they vote for it: Merely instructing them to “vote their conscience” is an implicit but clear message to vote against it.

    The blatant undermining of an agreement they reached on their terms begs an obvious question: Why, precisely, did they agree to a contract in the first place for which they did not intend to pursue ratification, and in whose interest was that done for?

    Given that the current administration has pursued numerous policies that would slow or reverse the railroads’ attempts to boost productivity and reduce employment—such as stopping a merger, mandating reciprocal switching, or forcing railroads to reverse their efforts to implement precision scheduled railroads—punting any strike beyond the mid-term election while also allowing the administration to trumpet its success at avoiding one before it could be construed as a quid pro quo for a government that’s done more to try to boost rail employment than any other.

    While contract negotiations occurred at a propitious time for the unions—the supply-chain bottlenecks were still throttling the economy over the summer—extricating themselves from the agreed-upon contract threatens to cost them both public goodwill as well as the political capital of the Democratic party, which would appear as either impotent or deceitful should one occur. Congress or the Administration would almost assuredly take steps to ensure that one did not occur after the election as well, and if that settlement were to significantly improve the unions’ side it would make the pre-election negotiations look less than above-the-board.

    An expedient ratification of the remaining contracts is in everyone’s best interests.

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    Ike Brannon, Contributor

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