Biden chooses California's Su as deputy Labor secretary
Source: Politico
EMPLOYMENT & IMMIGRATION
Biden chooses California's Su as deputy Labor secretary
The role takes on atypical importance as Biden attempts to resuscitate a limping job market.
By ELEANOR MUELLER and KATY MURPHY
02/03/2021 07:45 PM EST
President Joe Biden has offered Julie Su, who heads California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the role of deputy Labor secretary, and she has accepted, two people familiar with the decision told POLITICO. ... Su, the daughter of Chinese immigrants and a longtime advocate for low-wage workers, was among the names initially floated for Labor secretary. But Biden nominated Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, a longtime friend who had the backing of the AFL-CIO. Walsh's Senate confirmation hearing is on Thursday.
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Su served as the state’s labor commissioner for about eight years before becoming its labor secretary. Prior to that, she spearheaded litigation at Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a legal aid organization in Los Angeles.
The announcement is expected sometime next week, one of the people said. If confirmed, Su would step into the job at a critical point for American labor, with millions of people out of work and a narrowly divided Congress poised to stand in the way of Biden's major legislative initiatives. Still, the Labor Department has the power to enact regulatory changes that can make the workplace safer and empower employees.
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Her selection, first reported by Bloomberg Law, is likely to somewhat appease Asian American Pacific Island advocates, who lobbied heavily for Su's selection as Labor secretary and were disappointed when the role went to a white male. Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus members met with then-transition chairs Jeff Zients and Ted Kaufman on Dec. 7 to suggest her for the top job, and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) threw her weight behind the Californian later that week as well. On Dec. 16, the caucus sent another letter to Biden’s team to reiterate its support. (1)
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(1) https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/biden-plans-to-tap-california-labor-chief-julie-su-as-dol-deputy
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/03/biden-chooses-californias-su-as-deputy-labor-secretary-465721
Biden Plans to Nominate California’s Julie Su as DOL Deputy (2)
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/biden-plans-to-tap-california-labor-chief-julie-su-as-dol-deputy
Jan. 25, 2021, 3:12 PM; Updated: Jan. 25, 2021, 7:48 PM
• Many progressives backed Su for DOL secretary
• Record includes criticism of unemployment processing
President Joe Biden plans to nominate California Labor Secretary Julie Su for the No. 2 position at the U.S. Labor Department, after a chorus of progressives had called for her to land the agency’s top job, according to three sources briefed on the process.
Su has accepted the White House’s offer of the deputy secretary post, and an announcement of her formal selection could come as soon as Tuesday, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Su has earned high marks among labor leaders and worker advocates over her decades fighting for low-wage and immigrant communities, initially as a civil rights lawyer and for the past 10 years as a state official.
Biden intends to choose her as DOL deputy on the heels of tapping Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to helm the department as labor secretary. Earlier in the selection process, Su had been reluctant to serve as second-in-command, as Asian-American lawmakers and advocacy organizations pressed the Biden transition team to nominate her as secretary instead of Walsh.
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January 25? And it's just now hitting Politico? I guess Bloomberg Law was reporting the rumor, and Politico is reporting the news.
