Biden To Nominate Julie Su, Who Cracked Down On Wage Theft, As New Secretary Of Labor

Julie Su, who is known as a champion for workers, will become the new Secretary of the Department of Labor.

President Joe Biden will officially announce her nomination at White House at 9:30 AM ET Wednesday.

“It is my honor to nominate Julie Su to be our country’s next Secretary of Labor. Julie has spent her life fighting to make sure that everyone has a fair shot, that no community is overlooked, and that no worker is left behind,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

“Over several decades, Julie has led the largest state labor department in the nation, cracked down on wage theft, fought to protect trafficked workers, increased the minimum wage, created good-paying, high-quality jobs, and established and enforced workplace safety standards,” he added.

Biden urged the Senate to take up her nomination quickly.

Julie Su, who has been serving as the Deputy Secretary of Labor since July 2021, will head the agency after current Secretary Marty Walsh steps down later this month.

Previously, Su was the Labor Secretary for the State of California where she worked closely with unions and employers to build high road training partnerships to connect people to good, union jobs.

Su began her life in government service as the California Labor Commissioner where she launched the “Wage Theft is a Crime” campaign with the support of both labor and management. Su spent 17 years as a civil rights attorney representing workers who are often invisible, including 72 Thai garment workers who were trafficked into the US and forced to work behind barbed wire and under armed guard. Her work earned her a MacArthur “genius” award.

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus had pushed for the nomination of Su, who was born in Wisconsin to Chinese immigrants.

54-year-old Su is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School.

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