Monday morning musings for workplace watchers.
Walsh Out, Who’s In?|Sanders Calls Execs to Testify
Rebecca Rainey: The race to replace Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is well underway. While the Biden administration hasn’t yet provided a timeline on when Walsh is expected to exit, lawmakers and government officials have wasted no time floating various trial balloon candidates to replace him.
Of the names we’ve heard: former Michigan Democratic Rep. Andy Levin, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson, former Labor Secretary and UN Ambassador Chris Lu, and even former New York Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney.
“He was an incredible labor organizer in Michigan before coming here,” New York Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman said about Levin. “He knows the issues through and through. He knows the law, both federally and locally. He would be good.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), also rumored to be on the short list for Biden’s labor secretary coming into the administration, said he himself wasn’t interested in the job, but backed Nelson.
Reality check: Despite the endorsements, it seems that the obvious pick would be the DOL’s current no. 2, former California labor secretary Julie Su. The deputy secretary has been at the agency since July 2021, is familiar with staff, how the agency functions, and is also viewed by the labor community as a fierce workers’ rights advocate.
If Biden were to tap someone other than Su, it could be tricky politically. Asian American...
The Department of the Attorney General says the man claiming to be the state’s chief technology officer at national conferences and on online platforms is not affiliated with the state of Hawaii a...