GREATER BOSTON BUILDING TRADES UNIONS APPLAUD THE APPOINTMENT OF MAYOR MARTIN J. WALSH TO U.S. SECRETARY OF LABOR
BOSTON – The Greater Boston Building Trades Unions released the following statement today following the announcement and confirmation issued by the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden that Boston Mayor and union member Martin J. Walsh will be appointed to the position of U.S. Secretary of Labor.
“The Greater Boston Building Trades Unions, like President-elect Biden and incoming U.S. Secretary of Labor Walsh, believe in building an economy where all workers can thrive and access family-sustaining careers. We have seen firsthand the incredible work that incoming U.S. Secretary of Labor Walsh has done to build the middle class and to improve the lives of workers across industries in his time as the President of Laborers Local Union 223, as a legislator, as leader of our Boston Building Trades Unions, as Mayor, and as someone who has dedicated his life to combatting inequities and to building a more just future and a more just economy for all.
A tested legislator, union leader, and successful mayor, Marty Walsh has stood up for all workers, including low-income workers and workers of color. During his tenure as Mayor, 135,000 new jobs were created. He has worked tirelessly as Mayor and throughout his career to rebuild the middle class, to build a more inclusive and resilient economy, including by supporting the fight for a $15 minimum wage.
The appointment of incoming U.S. Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh is great news for working people across the country. We applaud his appointment by the Biden-Harris administration. He will lead a Department of Labor that centers its policies on the interests of workers. Marty Walsh is an authentic and effective leader who will help the nation build back better. He recently helped us convene the Construction Stops COVID coalition, uniting labor unions, industry partners, and global health experts in order to keep workers and our communities safe and to fight back against the pandemic — together. He centered his work within, through and in partnership with the labor movement to advance an agenda through the lens of racial, gender, social, environmental and economic justice. Through his enormous empathy and ability to bring people together, he has made life safer and better for working families. Throughout his entire career as an organizer, as a legislator, and as Mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh has been guided by a profound commitment to pursuing policies, reform and progress that help to advance the public good and the needs of working people.”
– Brian Doherty, General Agent and Secretary-Treasurer of the Greater Boston Building Trades Unions
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The Greater Boston Building Trades Unions represents 35,000 working families in the Metropolitan Boston region. The building trades unions advance social and economic justice by providing family-supporting wages, healthcare benefits and dignified retirement benefits to workers and their families in the construction industry.
The Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella group of 20 local construction unions, in partnership with more than 3,300 union contractors, provides the highest standards for workers in the construction industry. It is through collective bargaining and the Labor-Management partnership that workers achieve the highest levels of training, safety and economic security throughout their careers.
The Council strives to create a more fair and just environment for all workers in the construction industry