Lobbying

Biden taps Boston Mayor Marty Walsh for Labor secretary: report

by Alex Gangitano - 01/07/21 1:57 PM ET

President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) to serve as his Labor Secretary, Politico reported on Thursday.

Major unions including the AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the American Federation of Teachers backed him for the Cabinet role.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said on Thursday that Walsh will be an “exceptional labor secretary.”

“As a longtime union member, Walsh knows that collective bargaining is essential to building back better by combating inequality, beating COVID-19 and expanding opportunities for immigrants, women and people of color,” he said in a statement.

Trumka added that Walsh can help increase union density and overturn policies under the Trump administration and Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia.

Walsh is a former union leader in Boston and was at the helm of the Boston Building and Construction Trades Council.

The 53-year-old mayor has served in his current role since 2014 and before that was a member of the Massachusetts state house since 1997. Biden and Walsh have had a longstanding relationship and the former vice president presided over Walsh’s second inauguration in 2018.

Other names floated for the role were Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.), vice chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, California Labor Secretary Julie Su, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

AFSCME President Lee Saunders said in November, when announcing the union’s support for Walsh for Labor Secretary, that he has “cut his teeth” in the labor movement.

“He is a card-carrying union member who has executive experience running a large city,” Saunders said. “There’s no doubt he’d be a high profile and passionate fighter for workers’ rights and that is why AFSCME backs him for secretary of labor.”

Walsh’s nomination could face criticism from progressives looking for more diversity in the Cabinet after Biden promised to create a “Cabinet that looks like America.” Biden also nominated Merrick Garland for attorney general this week, another white man.

The Hill has reached out to the Biden transition team for confirmation.