Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has recommended Sara Nelson and Robert Reich as candidates for U.S. Secretary of Labor.
The veteran lawmaker made the endorsements in a Feb. 10 letter to President Joe Biden.
Sanders also praised current secretary Martin “Marty” Walsh, who is expected to resign from the post to become executive director of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.
Nelson, 49, has been the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA since 2014.
The union’s website credits her with securing legislation that provided $54 billion in federal COVID relief funding that benefited airline workers during the pandemic-era slowdown in air travel, as well as other measures.
Nelson was a member of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force and co-chair of the Economy Task Force during the 2020 Presidential Election.
“She has been a union member for nearly 30 years, has been a leading voice for worker rights, and is a very strong communicator of progressive values. She has a thorough understanding of federal labor laws and how these laws apply to workers, and her experience sets her up for success in this job,” Sanders wrote.
Reich, 76, served as Secretary of Labor from 1993 to 1997 under President Bill Clinton. He now teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, and is a senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies.
He is an outspoken progressive and a popular figure on social media, having 1.5 million Twitter followers and tens of thousands of paid subscribers to his daily column on Substack.
“Bob is widely regarded as one of the most effective secretaries of labor in modern history and, based on past experience, would hit the ground running. He has been instrumental in advancing workplace protections, workforce development, and worker power for decades,” Sanders wrote.
On Feb. 8, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) endorsed Julie Su for the position. Su is currently Deputy Secretary of Labor and would likely be named acting director upon Walsh’s resignation.
“Deputy Secretary Su has dedicated her career to the promotion of workers’ rights and fair labor practices and to advancing equity and opportunities for all workers, including ones from historically underserved communities.
“She would be a stellar, exceptionally qualified candidate to be Secretary of Labor and would deliver results for American workers and the Biden-Harris administration immediately upon her confirmation,” the CAPAC statement said.
Su, 53, formerly served as California Labor Secretary under Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Nelson, Reich, and Su could not be reached for comment.
