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Who do you want to be Secretary of Labor? What should the Labor Secretary do?

Submitted by BuzzFlash on Mon, 12/08/2008 - 12:05pm.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by Chad Rubel

The major focus for Barack Obama's cabinet has been on the high profile positions: Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Health & Human Services.

But progressives are concerned about the whole cabinet, not cherry-picked positions. So this week, we will focus on some of the "lesser-known" Cabinet positions.

The first one out of the box is one that has been ignored for the last 8 years -- what I've joked is the easiest job in the world: Secretary of Labor under a Republican president.

I've been looking at milk cartons for Elaine Chao's face since she disappeared from the news. And since she has been in the position since Day One, she hasn't done a whole lot, and what little she did was anti-worker.

Well, in an Obama Administration, the Secretary of Labor becomes an important and vital position.

Mary Beth Maxwell, executive director of American Rights at Work, has been talked about as a top candidate. Former Rep. David Bonior was considered a major candidate as well, until he took himself out of the running.

In case you did not remember, the two individuals who served as Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton were Robert Reich and Alexis Herman. Each served during a term in the Clinton Administration. Ray Marshall was Jimmy Carter's only Labor Secretary.

So who do you want as Secretary of Labor? And what should that person do when on the job?

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

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Choice for Labor Secretary

Submitted by Cherubim on Tue, 12/09/2008 - 10:13pm.
President-Elect Barack Obama has chosen, mostly, Wall Street promoters and corporate lawyers to be in his cabinet. He hasn't included anyone who knows how to interact and relate with everyday American citizens, and then report back to him concerning: (1) what the people need, and (2) whether his administration’s new initiatives are working. During the Great Depression, Eleanor Roosevelt fulfilled this role for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. I nominate Senator John Edwards for this role. John Edwards would be a refreshing change. Is not change what Obama s supposed to be about? As a rival of Barack Obama, for the Democratic Party Presidential nomination, John Edwards, consistently spoke up for average Americans, i.e. Main Street, not Wall Street. During his “Road to One America Poverty Tour” John Edwards demonstrated that he is uniquely qualified for this role. The video evidence follows: He has walked with and comforted people whose homes were being foreclosed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i_GWrYkcCI Defined the “Great Moral Test of Our Generation”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS1x88ZmohM He has visited workers employed in the new renewal energy economy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50yOR5bvMV0 John Edwards is, also, the only candidate for President that actually went down to New Orleans on several occasions and worked along side those striving to try to bring back the areas that remain so devastated from the effects of Hurricane Katrina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAqktFnA4nk&feature=PlayList&p=EB1EC8919DC5DC52&index=0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DaofQCkbA8
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Kucinich for Secretary of Labor

Submitted by gkaba on Mon, 12/08/2008 - 8:43pm.
Dennis Kucinich has a 100% voting record on worker's rights. He has already had a Works Green Administration in his presidential platform that is far superior to what Obama is proposing. No one is better qualified to execute a new New Deal than Dennis.
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Bonior for Labor

Submitted by lillith on Mon, 12/08/2008 - 12:46pm.
I have been hoping Obama will appoint Bonior to the Labor post. As a Michigan resident and ex-UAW member, I witnessed Bonior's intelligence and dedication to working people, first hand.
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