THE NEW LEADERS | Meet Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor
Posted on January 14th, 2009 by Tim Eavenson | No Comments »Filed under: ., Labor Law |
[Ed. Note: This post is the first in an ongoing series chronicling the new Obama Appointees that could affect labor and employment law and policy.]
We start our series on Obama’s labor leaders with the President-elect’s choice for a position with more workforce influence than anyone but the President himself – Secretary of Labor Nominee Hilda Solis.
Obama’s pick of Solis to head the Department of Labor it is a clear message to the unions that helped elect him, a group worried about whether they still had the President-elect’s ear after the financial woes of the past few months. It is also indicitive of where employment issues are on his list of priorities: high and strong. Designating Solis is like putting an exclamation point on his promises of workforce reform.
Solis is the only member of Congress on the board of a pro-labor organization, and she was a co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act (which will make it much easier for unions to enter workplaces by eliminating the lengthy, secret-ballot election process). Having her at the helm of the DOL should put to rest the recent, markedly verbal, fears of many labor advocates who felt that Obama was primed to let them down once he takes office.
But the DOL does much more than labor relations, of course. What Ms. Solis’s focus and influence will be over the remainder of the employment issues within the Department’s purview is more unclear. The Congresswoman’s website lists labor & employment issues that she has promised to address in the House. They include:
- Expanding unemployment benefits
- Increase the minimum wage (already completed)
- Defending workers’ rights to organize
- Securing Federal Funds for “Green Collar” jobs
- Honoring labor leaders
- Supporting fair trade, not free trade.
- Preventing workplace injustices
- Eliminating corporate corruption
Many of these issues are standard political discourse, and it is still unclear where Solis’s focus will be with regard to the ESA (which includes enforcement of wage and hour and workplace safety laws). But in Solis, with her ties to unions and track record for legislating for employee interests, it seems Obama is pointing to someone he thinks can put some meat on those vague promises working-class Americans have heard for so long.
Critics worry that Solis will sway the DOL toward pro-union activities, when the agency is supposed to be an impartial participant in workforce issues. At her confirmation hearing, Senate Republicans asked Solis about EFCA, and about state “right to work” laws, which prohibit employers from making union membership mandatory. She avoided answering the questions, saying she hasn’t discussed the issues with Obama, and would defer to his policy decisions.
The Congresswoman from California’s 32nd District will take the post when Obama is sworn in later this month, presuming (as most do) that she makes it through the confirmation hearings.
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