After serving for two years in the pro-union Biden cabinet, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh is not so quietly quitting. Boston’s former union leader and mayor will step down from his post in mid-March. Walsh will take over as the Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.
Walsh is expected to earn $3 million U.S. annually and live in Boston with no requirement to move to Toronto, where the Players’ Association is headquartered.
It sounds like a pretty sweet work gig for a union leader if you can get it!
Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su is the prevailing favorite to take over for Walsh when he steps down. Walsh was an activist leader and a dealmaker. Su hails from California and is more interested in policy issues and individual worker rights. Earlier this week, Walsh and Su co-hosted workers and labor leaders from unions like the AFL-CIO and SEIU in Washington D.C at a meeting focused on job creation and enhancing union organizing.
Despite Walsh’s imminent departure, the labor unions will face no shortage of government allies willing to help advance their issues and policies, especially at the NLRB. The agency is still very active under Jennifer Abruzzo and Lauren McFerran. They continue to crank out decisions and promote an approach highly beneficial to labor unions.
