Earlier this year, Marty Walsh, the Biden Administration’s pick for secretary of labor decided he’d be happier organizing hockey players and took off to run National Hockey League Players’ Association. That move left the Department of Labor in the hands of California’s own, anti contractor, International Labor Organizer, Julie Su. Julie Su’s history of poor judgement and incompetence should make her an easy “NO” on her upcoming promotion to the top job in the Labor Department.
While serving in California Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration, Su was a leading supporter and pushed through the passage of A.B. 5, despite bipartisan concerns. The measure reclassified an array of freelance workers, including writers and language translators, all while killing jobs and tearing away flexibility from workers in the process. A year later, the California legislature repealed parts of Su’s bill – and in 2020, the voters went even further and passed Prop 22, protecting workers in the new, high-tech gig economy from being reclassified under Su’s bill.
If Su’s nomination to lead the Department of Labor advances, it’s West Virginians who will be paying the price for her poor judgement and incompetence. That’s why Senator Capito rightly opposes Su’s nomination as Labor Secretary. Serving on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and as the ranking member of the committee responsible for funding the Department of Labor, Senator Capito understands that to lead the Department of Labor, the Secretary needs to work to support and expand opportunities for new, high-tech, high-paying jobs. Julie Su has spent her career doing the opposite, which should be cause for concern for all West Virginians.
Countless West Virginians rely on the innovative, high-tech jobs and work flexibility that the gig economy and freelance work offers. Our Representatives should not allow someone who is openly hostile to this growing industry to be calling the shots at the Department of Labor.
All of West Virginia’s Congressional Delegation should join Senator Capito in standing up for West Virginia workers and unanimously reject Julie Su’s nomination as Labor Secretary.
