Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Sue will meet with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee at a hearing to confirm her nomination as the next U.S. Department of Labor secretary at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., April 20, 2023. testify before
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More than 250 business leaders are asking the Senate to confirm Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su will lead the department, according to a letter first obtained by CNBC.
“Julie Hsu is a trailblazer whose track record speaks for itself,” reads the letter, citing her experience as California’s secretary of labor. In addition, her experience as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor has led her to work with the Department of Labor and the Current Situation We fully understand the challenges faced by economies, businesses and workers.”
A letter addressed to both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was sent Thursday. It was signed by the likes of YouTube co-founder Steve Chen and his OpenTable CEO Debbie Hsu. Other signatories include Coca-Cola and Morningstar board member Caroline Tsai. Roy Salameh, former managing director and vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase. Eric Kim, co-founder and managing partner of Goodwater Capital. and Cindy McNamara, vice president of Bank of America.
Su has faced strong backlash from some members of the business community for her pro-worker stance, blocking her path to approval. She has been confirmed to become former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh’s undersecretary in a partisan vote in 2021, but several leading moderate Democrats have yet to say whether they will endorse her in this round. .
A Democratic-majority Senate committee went ahead with her nomination late last month.
If approved, Hsu would become the first Asian-American and Pacific Islander chief cabinet secretary in the Biden administration. She joined her Cabinet-level AAPI staff Vice President Kamala Harris, Office of the US Trade Representative Catherine Tai, and Arathi Prabhakar, Policy Director of the Office of Science and Technology.
Many of the signatories, many of whom are Asian-American, expressed concern about the lack of AAPI representation in government, saying they were “extremely concerned.” The letter found that he made up only 0.9% of elected leaders at all levels of government, even though AAPI individuals made up 6.1% of his total population. quoting a report from the Reflective Democracy Campaign.
Additionally, AAPI community members own over 2.5 million small businesses and are responsible for creating over 5 million jobs.
“Their economic impact is significant and it is vital that they are strongly represented at the highest levels of government,” the letter said.
The White House is adamant in supporting Mr. Hsu’s approval. White House Press Secretary Carine Jean-Pierre echoed that stance at a news conference on Wednesday.
“She’s meeting with dozens of senators on both sides of the aisle, and we work hard every day for every vote. We are confident in her process and look forward to reviewing the floor in the near future.
Su is also supported by unions such as United Mine Workers, NABTU, LiUNA, IBEW, AFL-CIO, and the Small Business Majority of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
