Senate Confirms Smith as the Nation’s ‘Workers’ Lawyer’
By a 60-37 vote, the U.S. Senate this afternoon confirmed M. Patricia Smith as the solicitor of labor. The solicitor of labor oversees enforcement of the nation’s most important labor laws and sets enforcement priorities that have a major impact on workers and their lives.
The late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) described the solicitor general’s job as “the workers’ lawyer.” During her confirmation hearing last year, Smith said she would bring to the job a “philosophy of proactive enforcement.” Says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka:
At a time when working families are bearing the brunt of the economic recession and violations of workplace rights are rampant, Ms. Smith’s commitment to strong, fair and effective enforcement of our workplace laws is crucial.
The vote follows some nine months of Republican obstruction in an attempt to block Smith from the U.S. Department of Labor post as the nation’s top labor lawyer.
Solis Backs Employee Free Choice, Strong Enforcement of Wage, Safety Laws
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Labor Secretary Hilda Solis says workers face increasing obstacles when they try to form unions and “we need to restore their freedom to do so.” In testimony before the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee today, Solis looked back at the department’s actions in 2009 and forward to its 2010 agenda.
In reiterating the Obama administration’s support for the Employee Free Choice Act, Solis said:
I will work to ensure that workers’ rights will be protected. In order to Read the rest of this entry »
Federal Budget Goes in Right Direction, Needs More for Jobs
The fiscal year 2011 budget released by the White House today “moves the country in the right direction…to get our economy back on track,” says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
He says the proposed funding for infrastructure development, education, job training and green jobs are the right investments to make. But the $100 billion for job creation in fiscal year 2011 is not enough to meet what will be an ongoing need to address the jobs deficit.
While the nation’s mostly Bush-inherited budget deficit is garnering headlines, Trumka says “not enough attention is being paid to our massive ‘jobs deficit.’”
We need to create over 10 million new jobs just to get back to where we were when the recession began. This massive jobs deficit demands bold, urgent action to create new jobs and grow the middle class. And besides, the most effective way to reduce the budget deficit is to eliminate the jobs deficit.
Labor Department Says Focus is on Worker Safety, Fair Wages
New rules to improve workplace safety, monitor employer compliance, track ergonomics injuries, bring union-busting consultants out of the shadows and ensure fair wages and overtime pay top the U.S. Department of Labor’s regulatory agenda.
Says Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in a video statement on the department’s website:
Protecting wages and working conditions is the key mission of our department. Insuring workers have a voice on the job is also vital….We are committed to ensuring that workers are paid a fair wage and have a voice in the workplace.
Solis Meets with Workers, Pledges to Fight Alongside Them
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After her inspiring speech at the 2009 AFL-CIO Convention, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis joined with workers in a private meeting to discuss their struggles in forming a union, struggles faced by workers across the country.
Shawn Williams, Xiaohong Colluci, Angel Rangel, Debbie Kaliff and Billie Jean Huggins got a chance to speak personally about the intimidation, harassment and mistreatment they’ve faced as they’ve struggled for fairness on the job. In her compassionate conversation with these workers, Solis proved she gets it—she understands what workers are going through. She promised to fight for good jobs, for workplace safety and for the freedom to form a union. She said she appreciated what all of the workers had to offer:
These are the stories we have to tell.
Thank you so much for your courage and leadership—this means a lot to all of us. We’re with you, the president is with you, and believe me, we’re going to change this country.
Late to the Game, Wyoming’s Enzi Seeks to Derail Labor Nomination
Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.)—who brags about blocking health care reform (more on that later)—now wants to block President Obama’s choice of Patricia Smith to be the top Department of Labor lawyer.
Earlier this week, Enzi apparently got around to reading the transcripts of Smith’s May 7 confirmation hearing for solicitor of labor. Now, some three-and-a-half months after sitting through the hearing and voicing no objections to Smith’s answers or nomination, he wants Obama to withdraw Smith’s name, reports BNA’s Daily Labor Report (subscription required).
Labor Secretary Solis: ‘Level the Playing Field’
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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Elections have consequences. Speaking today in an interview with The Washington Post, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis re-affirmed the administration’s commitment to passing the Employee Free Choice Act and restoring workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain.
Here’s what Solis had to say about why we need the Employee Free Choice Act:
I think it helps to level the playing field because, in many cases, workers have been disadvantaged. They’ve been intimidated, they’ve been harassed, and we have case after case after case that we can look at. And you probably hear from the opposing side, that they will say, “Well, no, there have been successes where people have been able to organize, and they have been able to push forward a unionization.” But when you look at the attempts that have been made over the past few years…there have been barriers that have been put up. And I think that the past administration was not very favorable for unions. They were not supportive in many ways.
Two Former Labor Secretaries: Why We Support Employee Free Choice
Ray Marshall, secretary of labor from 1977 to 1981, and Robert Reich, secretary of labor from 1993 to 1997, have borne witness to a big shift in the economy and the power of workers over past decades. They’ve seen an economy weakened by inequality, corporate greed and the decreasing ability of workers to bargain for their fair share—and they know now is the time to change that.
In Sunday’s Chicago Tribune, Reich and Marshall explain clearly why we need the Employee Free Choice Act, which would level the playing field for workers seeking to join unions and create an economy that works for everyone. Economic recovery starts by giving workers the tools they need to get fair wages, better benefits and economic security, say the two former labor secretaries:
A vital component of our nation’s recovery is making sure that we don’t return to a bubble-and-bust economy, where the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class gets squeezed…the economy we are rebuilding must be a sustainable one. That starts with good-paying, secure jobs.
U.S. Unemployment Rate Now 9.4 Percent
In May across the nation, 345,000 jobs were lost, worsening the U.S. unemployment rate to 9.4 percent, according to data released today by the Department of Labor.
There are now 14.5 million jobless U.S. workers, a number that doesn’t reflect the severity of the problem. If those who are underemployed or who want a job but have given up looking are counted, the broader U.S. unemployment rate stands at 16.4 percent—more than
25 million Americans who need jobs or full-time work but cannot find it.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 268,000 over the month to 3.9 million and has tripled since the start of the recession in December 2007.
Labor FY 2010 Budget Will Protect Workers. What a Concept
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis told two congressional committees this week that the Department of Labor’s fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget will
restore capacity in our worker protection programs, which have languished for years.
Appearing in separate hearings before the Senate and House Appropriations committees’ Labor, Health and Human Services and Education subcommittees, Solis said the department’s budget—including a 10 percent increase for worker protection programs—will fund three priorities:
- Renewed capacity of programs that protect workers’ safety and health, pay and benefits;
- New and innovative ways to promote economic recovery and the competitiveness of our nation’s workers; and
- Carrying out programs in a way that is accountable and transparent to the public and our stakeholders.
