E&W Blog

Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is considering President Biden’s nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Department of Labor, Julie Su. Ms. Su is currently serving as the head of California’s Department of Labor, an agency which has not only failed to come through for struggling Californians during the COVID-19 pandemic but has also cost California taxpayers tens of billions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment claims.
 
Ms. Su’s record as the head of California’s Department of Labor, including a demonstrated favoritism towards unions, calls into question her ability to effectively lead on the national level and her commitment to ALL American workers.
 
Now more than ever, we need leaders at the U.S. Department of Labor who are dedicated to creating more opportunities for employment and helping Americans reenter the workforce. In California, the Labor Department under Su’s command has spent up to $31 billion in fraudulent unemployment payments since March 2020. This fiasco, which could have been prevented, has done nothing to help Californians and will only result in higher taxes for all citizens in the state.
 
Not only has Ms. Su proved to be an incompetent leader, she is also a supporter of the radical, pro-union legislation known as AB 5. This bill, which subsequently became law, implemented the California ABC worker classification test, which all but eliminated independent contractor status, greatly limiting flexibility for workers and taking away millions of job opportunities. The legislation has had such a negative impact on workers, entrepreneurs, and families since it went into effect in January 2020, that the California legislature has already had to pass dozens of special-interest exemptions to the law. H.R. 842, the Democrat-sponsored PRO Union Bosses Act, which passed in the House last week, is attempting to nationalize this disastrous policy, however this time with zero exemptions.
 
Since President Biden nominated Ms. Su to Deputy Secretary of the Department of Labor, many union leaders nation-wide have voiced their support for her nomination. The last thing Americans need is another “leader” that caters to the demands of union bosses and puts their interests above those of American workers and job creators.