Marty Walsh
Secretary of Labor
Martin Joseph Walsh was born in April 1967, in Boston, Massachusetts. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Woods College of Advancing Studies at Boston College.
He joined the Laborers’ Union local and later served as its president. He was elected secretary-treasurer and general agent of the Boston Metropolitan District Building Trades Council. He served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, then was elected Mayor of Boston, serving two terms.
Walsh was nominated by President Joe Biden to be Secretary of Labor. His nomination was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 68-29, and he was sworn in by the vice president in March 2021.
In the News…
The president’s economic recovery plan seems to be working, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said, but he expressed concerns about minority communities re-entering the workforce.
Secretary Walsh said of the June data, “the Black unemployment rate, 9.2%. The Latino unemployment rate, 7.4%.” He added, “We need to really focus on the African-American community and the Latino community to make sure that the growth in the comeback is equitable across the board.” He suggested the statistics are due to some of the workforce still being unvaccinated.
“Hopefully we will see more people coming into the workforce and getting jobs after Labor Day,” he said. “I think that if you look at the job growth, you look at the number of people vaccinated, there’s a correlation there as well.”
The labor secretary called the jobs report a “positive” one. “Certainly there are aspects that we would like to see higher numbers in different places, but overall, it was a good, solid report moving in the right direction,” he said.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Secretary Walsh today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Marty Walsh, Secretary
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20210
