National Consumers League applauds confirmation of Marty Walsh as U.S. Labor Secretary

March 23, 2021

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org(412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org(202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL), America’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, welcomes the Senate confirmation of Marty Walsh as U.S. Labor Secretary. Walsh will be the first Labor Secretary in more than 50 years with a union background. During his confirmation hearing, Walsh spoke out against systemic racism and pledged to do the hard work of enacting policies that address the issue. “It’s not simply just throwing fancy words out there, but in policies, it’s actually doing the work, rolling up our sleeves,” he told Senators.

The following statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

We look forward to Marty Walsh’s confirmation as Secretary of the Department of Labor. His background as a union leader in the building trades and as a former state legislator and the mayor of Boston will suit him well for the position. In recent years, we have seen worker rights and worker protections seriously eroded; Marty Walsh will fix that. He will restore badly needed protections and support workers’ right to collective bargaining.

Walsh was a proponent of Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which passed the House last year. It would add labor protections for workers and make it easier to organize. He will work to ensure that the labor inspectorate is revitalized and he will restore the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as an entity that safeguards the health and safety of workers. He is also a supporter of raising the minimum wage, which has not kept up with inflation and should receive a major increase.

The National Consumers League works closely with the Department of Labor in pursuing strategies to reduce global child labor. We know that Walsh views the exploitation of children in child labor and the forced labor of children and adults as a human rights abuse that deserves concerted action. We look forward to Marty Walsh’s leadership at this vital cabinet position as the nation emerges from a dreadful pandemic that has impacted so much of the American workforce.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.