Senate confirms Marty Walsh is Labor Secretary

Senate confirms Marty Walsh is Labor Secretary

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The vote was 68 to 29.

Walsh first joined the Laborers’ Union Local 223 at the age of 21. By 2011, he had acted to lead the Boston Trades Council, a group representing, among others, ironworkers ‘and electricians’ unions. He has served as mayor since 2014.

During his confirmation hearing, Walsh spoke about the most important moments in his life – from cancer as a child, to the footsteps of his father’s union work and recovery from addiction – which informed him how he views the work of the Department of Health. Work.

“Protecting workers, equal access to good work, the right to join a trade union, continuing education and training, access to mental health and drug use. It’s not just for my policies, I have lived it,” Walsh said. said. “Millions of American families need it now. I’ve spent my entire career at various levels fighting for them.”

His nomination could expose some lines of fault in the labor movement, especially over questions of climate policy and diversity, which were largely set aside during Biden’s campaign to defeat Trump.

Walsh survived California Labor Secretary Julie Su, who was presumably one of the finalists, and Michigan representative Andy Levin, who had the support of major unions such as the Communications Workers of America and United Auto Workers. Su would have been among the top Asian American officials in government if she had been elected.

But Walsh’s confirmation was a victory for AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, who convened his 56-union federation to support the mayor of Boston, shortly after Biden won the November election.

“It’s hard to exaggerate the importance of this moment,” Trumka said. “For four years, working families have been living with a Labor Department dedicated to upholding a handful of elite interests. The power to enforce safety and equity in our workplaces is now shifting from a relentless advocate to a proud union transferred. “

Of the 23 cabinet-level positions the Senate must consider, 21 have now been confirmed.
Last week, the Senate voted to confirm Deb Haaland as Home Secretary – the first Native American cabinet secretary in U.S. history – Isabel Guzman, who headed the Small Business Administration, and Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, the first Latino who held the position.

CNN’s Gregory Krieg, Dan Merica and Sara Ashley O’Brien contributed to this report.

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