Organized labor’s divide over at least three White men they’re promoting for Joe Biden‘s selection as labor secretary has vaulted another candidate with a lower national profile, California Labor Secretary Julie Su, into stronger contention for the job.
The splintering in union support spread among Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has created an opening for Su to quietly gain momentum in the race to be the president-elect’s U.S. Labor Department leader, according national and state labor officials, Obama administration alums, worker advocates, and others in close communication with the Biden transition.