In The News: A 'New Sheriff' at DOL

Just days after the U.S. Senate confirmed her as labor secretary, Hilda Solis joined hundreds of union members at a Miami church and listened to an AT&T Mobility worker's heartfelt plea for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.

Hector Capote, a vice president of CWA Local 3122, told Solis how workers at his call center were able to form a union through majority signup. "We all worked together, managers and workers, for a fair process," he said.

Capote said he didn't have that chance when he began working at age 14 at a fast food chain as a new immigrant to America, and neither do millions of other Americans today. "I wanted to tell you how labor law needs to be changed so we can have more rights. The Employee Free Choice is so important to make sure that happens.

CWA leaders applauded Solis's confirmation Feb. 25, citing her impressive record on workers' issues while representing California in the U.S. House.

Solis, addressing the AFL-CIO Executive Council, told members that, "There's a new sheriff in town."

During the meeting, President Obama sent a video message that repeated his conviction that the Employee Free Choice Act will become law.

“To me, and to my administration, labor unions are a big part of the solution,”?Obama said. “We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests — because we cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement.”