On January 7, Biden nominated Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as the Secretary of Labor. If confirmed, Walsh would be the first union member to fill the role in almost 50 years. Walsh joined Laborer’s Union Local 223 as a tradesman at age 21, later becoming President of the Union. He rose to serve as the head of Boston’s Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella organization of 20 local unions. As Boston’s Mayor, Walsh assembled a Minimum Wage Task Force to push for a statewide $15 per hour minimum wage. His team secured a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to get low-income workers into union apprenticeships, combined with college credit, to give them access to careers in construction and hospitality. He created job centers where unemployed residents can find assistance developing resume-writing, networking, interviewing, and job searching skills. His website outlines his focus on worker safety during the COVID pandemic and encourages COVID testing, and the city’s website provides resources for childcare of essential workers, mortgage deferral programs, and food assistance programs. These aspects of his resume give us a glimpse of how Walsh may tackle national labor issues such as minimum wage, union relations, unemployment, and worker safety during the COVID pandemic.
