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'Tom Perez has guts': US labor secretary being eyed as Clinton's running mate
Source: The Guardian
'Tom Perez has guts': US labor secretary being eyed as Clinton's running mate
Perez has spent his years at the helm of the labor department fighting
for paid leave, overtime pay and visiting workers on the ground – and
he’s not done yet
Jana Kasperkevic in Washington
Saturday 21 May 2016 12.00 BST Last modified on Saturday 21 May 2016 12.01 BST
It’s been a busy week for the US labor secretary, Tom Perez.
On Tuesday night, the White House announced that the Obama administration had finalized a new rule that could potentially expand overtime benefits to 4.2 million more Americans. On Wednesday morning, Perez boarded Air Force Two and with Vice-President Joe Biden and flew to Columbus, Ohio, where they made the official public announcement inside Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams.
The new rule has been described by some as second only to the Affordable Care Act in its ability to affect the wellbeing of working- and middle-class Americans. Perez, who has been at the head of the US Department of Labor for nearly three years, has made the overtime rule a priority even as he has toured the country speaking to workers and advocating for other worker-friendly policies such as higher minimum wages at the local, state and federal level.
With two-thirds of a year left until the new president is sworn in, Perez still has an intimidating list of unfinished business – paid leave, auto-enrolling US workers into 401K or other pension programs and a higher minimum wage among others– that he’d like to accomplish. As the election nears, he may have even more on his plate: Perez is said to be a potential vice-presidential pick.
He is clearly unafraid of a challenge. Big business has come out swinging against his changes to paid leave. Perez is unfazed. “We are the only industrialized nation on the planet that does not have some form of paid leave. We are the only industrialized nation where paid leave is a partisan issue,” Perez said.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Perez has spent his years at the helm of the labor department fighting
for paid leave, overtime pay and visiting workers on the ground – and
he’s not done yet
Jana Kasperkevic in Washington
Saturday 21 May 2016 12.00 BST Last modified on Saturday 21 May 2016 12.01 BST
It’s been a busy week for the US labor secretary, Tom Perez.
On Tuesday night, the White House announced that the Obama administration had finalized a new rule that could potentially expand overtime benefits to 4.2 million more Americans. On Wednesday morning, Perez boarded Air Force Two and with Vice-President Joe Biden and flew to Columbus, Ohio, where they made the official public announcement inside Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams.
The new rule has been described by some as second only to the Affordable Care Act in its ability to affect the wellbeing of working- and middle-class Americans. Perez, who has been at the head of the US Department of Labor for nearly three years, has made the overtime rule a priority even as he has toured the country speaking to workers and advocating for other worker-friendly policies such as higher minimum wages at the local, state and federal level.
With two-thirds of a year left until the new president is sworn in, Perez still has an intimidating list of unfinished business – paid leave, auto-enrolling US workers into 401K or other pension programs and a higher minimum wage among others– that he’d like to accomplish. As the election nears, he may have even more on his plate: Perez is said to be a potential vice-presidential pick.
He is clearly unafraid of a challenge. Big business has come out swinging against his changes to paid leave. Perez is unfazed. “We are the only industrialized nation on the planet that does not have some form of paid leave. We are the only industrialized nation where paid leave is a partisan issue,” Perez said.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/21/tom-perez-labor-secretary-hillary-clinton
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