Labor secretary nominee Marty Walsh speaks with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) at his confirmation hearing. Photo credit: Getty.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is getting a big promotion.

The Senate voted 68-29 on Monday to confirm him as the next secretary of labor.

AFSCME President Lee Saunders applauded the confirmation, saying in a statement, “Marty Walsh is the leader Americans need to carry out the president’s pro-worker agenda. He will work to expand rights, freedoms and protections to everyone, not just for the wealthy and corporations.”

In a career dedicated to advancing the interests of working families of all backgrounds, Walsh will be a close ally of President Joe Biden’s and a powerful and effective voice for working people in the Biden administration. 

Saunders said, “Labor runs in Secretary Walsh’s veins. He is a card-carrying union member who believes in equity in the workplace and the importance of having a voice on the job. As mayor of Boston, he has always put the working people of his city first, championing good union jobs and giving everyone, regardless of race, gender, or zip code a seat at the table.”

As labor secretary, Saunders said, Marty Walsh will pursue an agenda that levels the playing field for everyday people who are struggling to get by and for public service workers who work tirelessly day after day to keep our communities and our economy running.

“That means raising wages, boosting job training, strengthening retirement security, keeping workers safe, and so much more,” he said.

Walsh, who has served as Boston’s mayor for seven years, is a former tradesman who joined the Laborers’ International Union of North America as a young man before leading the Building and Construction Trades Council in Boston from 2011 to 2013.  

He spoke at AFSCME’s 43rd International Convention in Boston, in 2018.

“We need to fight together … to make sure that the people representing us understand the importance and the struggle of working people,” he said back then.