Policy could take precedence over politics as Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su appears poised to succeed Labor Secretary Marty Walsh—even if only temporarily—placing an ardent enforcer of labor rights atop the US Labor Department.
With Walsh’s imminent departure from the DOL to the National Hockey League Players Association, multiple scenarios could play out in the transition of power. The White House and the agency have declined to comment on reports of Walsh’s possible exit.
“I think we absolutely will see a different posture from Su,” Dan Altchek, a partner at Saul Ewing in Baltimore, said in a phone interview. “I think that Secretary Walsh came from a real kind of traditional labor management relations background. He was a union negotiator, before he was a politician and a deal maker, and he saw a role for himself to get involved in some major, high-profile labor disputes.”
He doesn’t see Su stepping into that role. “I think she will be much more focused on kind of nitty gritty policy issues,” Altchek said. “Much more in the individual worker rights arena, where she has built her career and been focused in California and at the DOL.”
Su’s reputation as an advocate for immigrants and vulnerable workers has already prompted support from the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community and sparked concern from industry groups and Republicans who fear a less...
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