One disappointment from the hearing was that the Senators did not ask more questions about the Department of Labor's international work and that while there was a lot of talk about keeping jobs in the US and stopping the race to the bottom, there did not seem to be much discussion about the role the Department of Labor can play in raising standards for workers globally.  Senator Harkin did bring up a very important issue at the hearing which was the importance of funding the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) at the Department of Labor and ensuring that the appointees in the next Administration are strong advocates for worker rights including ending child labor (about 89 minutes into the hearing).  Rep. Solis did not respond directly to any opinions or plans for ILAB, but she did share her work to support young women working in maquiladoras in Mexico and affirmed her commitment to ensuring that companies providing goods to the US do not exploit children.

I agree with Senator Harkin who said at the hearing, "I look forward to making the Department of Labor a true Department of Labor, not just a department of management and capital."  I want to see a Secretary of Labor who will really stand up to ensure that worker rights are protected after so many years of deterioration under the Bush Administration and I think that Rep. Solis will do that.  (On another note, I agree with Bill Moyers and USW President Leo Girard that we should be concerned that Obama has nominated a pro-NAFTA US Trade Representative which could weaken US engagement in improving global labor conditions).

A number of factors will influence Rep. Solis' ability to strengthen the Department of Labor for workers, but two very important things Rep. Solis will need are a strong mandate to support workers from President-Elect Obama and a strong mandate from all of us to protect labor rights.  Obama was elected because so many people across the country got organized and mobilized their neighbors, friends, families and co-workers to work for change.  Now that Obama has been elected, he needs all of us to stay mobilized to first of all continue to push Congress and the Administration to adopt a more progressive agenda for social and economic justice and to provide the grassroots support to overcome opposition to policies that support worker rights.  Big business and anti-worker forces are mobilizing aggressively to fight any advances for organized labor and if we want to roll back the 8 year attack on workers and institutionalize better policies, we need to be vocal about what we want.

Many unions have wasted no time in quickly organizing to support a pro-worker agenda.  For example, SEIU is running a big "Change That Works" campaign calling for the passage of EFCA and an economic recovery plan to create new jobs and for a better healthcare system.  UNITE-HERE has launched a "UNITE HERE for Change!" campaign and other unions and labor organizations are doing similar campaigns.  Bill Moyers did a great interview last week with Leo Girard from USW that outlines some priorities for the labor movement and you can watch it here and read the transcript here.  These are all important campaigns and it is important that labor advocates build on the hope and excitement in the new administration and translate that energy into concrete policy improvements for workers both in the US and internationally.