Word is that Congresswoman Hilda Solis is to be named Labor Secretary. I'd write a long post on this, and maybe I will later, but I think most of what I'd say is better expressed by the fact that Harold Meyerson just ran into my office doing everything but clicking his heels in the air. The same sentiment has been echoed by every Labor supporter and union worker I know. I'd add one point: Solis is Hispanic. That's not tokenism. For the Secretary of Labor, it's relevant. The movement's most rapid growth is among immigrant workers, but for many years, immigration was the prime fissure separating newer unions, which focus on service workers and other low-wage industries, and older unions, which considered immigrant labor a threat. In recent years, the unions have painfully and courageously united around a vision that prizes immigrants as part of their coalition, and they were a major partner in the pro-immigrant rallies that swept through the nation in 2006. Solis helps cement that alliance, and that self-conception, which is good new for those of us who care about both growth and justice in Labor. Here, by the way, is Solis speaking on the Employee Free Choice Act.
