WASHINGTON D.C. — IATSE joined the AFL-CIO and worker advocates across the country Wednesday in praising the Biden Administration’s nomination of close ally, Julie Su, to serve as Secretary of Labor following the departure of Secretary Marty J. Walsh.

Su has served as the Deputy Secretary of Labor since 2021 and formerly served as the head of the largest state labor department in the nation as Secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

In congratulating Su on her nomination, Thom Davis, President, California IATSE Council (CIC) said:

“We have first-hand experience with her strong commitment to working men and women, and the unions that represent them. In 2019, the CIC approached the California Economic Development Department (EDD) to ask if we could work together to rectify the longstanding problem of misclassification of our entertainment industry members’ jobs—a problem that, among other things, complicated unemployment applications. EDD, under the purview of then California Secretary of Labor Julie Su, agreed to work with us to revamp our job classifications. It was a complex and lengthy process but it was, more importantly, a successful one. Little did we know that just months after completion, in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic would shut down all film and TV productions —making access to unemployment compensation a lifeline for our members.  We know Julie Su will apply the same foresight to her work as Secretary of Labor.”

Su has an extraordinary track record of protecting workers’ rights, pioneering job creation, combatting wage theft, and will be a champion for working families as the head of the Department of Labor.

IATSE strongly urges members of the U.S. Senate to confirm her nomination.