Biden's Next Noxious Nominee

President Biden picked a nominee for the office of 

Secretary of Labor, and from the looks of her, Julie Su

is every bit as radical, anti-business, and anti-worker

(esp. if the workers in question are not in any union) as 

one can imagine coming from the Democrat Party and 

landing a cabinet position in the Biden Administration.  

At present the deputy secretary, Su has tended to place

union interests above those of individual workers and  

flexible business models which workers support but   

unions strongly oppose. While not that long ago while 

being California Labor Secretary she was the driving 

force behind implementation of the state's AB5 law, 

which turned independent contractors into employees,

thus making them vulnerable to union campaigns to 

unionize them. This ploy was aimed at the participants    

in the "gig economy", i.e. Uber drivers and other workers

who have the freedom to negotiate their own individual 

wages and general terms of employment with clientele,    

freedom they would lose if their jobs became unionized

jobs, with the unions deciding what they should earn and   

negotiating for them on their terms.. However, the law

wound up adversely affecting other workers seeking  

flexible hours in various industries, such as (but not

limited to) stand-up comedians, personal fitness trainers,   

hairdressers, landscapers, and personal chefs. Su followed

this up with statewide investigations and audits to enforce

compliance. 

The state's voters then passed an initiative exempting many 

gig workers from the AB5, while the state government on its

own exempted numerous professions from the statute. 

One would think that Su would re-think AB5, to the point

of not trying to get such regulation enacted at the federal level.

But guess what? She is forging ahead with plans to do just that!

Su also is no fan of the franchise industry, a path for many to 

become small-business owners. While in her former position she

supported California's Fast Act, which empowers an unelected 

board (naturally!) to impose work rules and a minimum wage

($22 per hour!!). California's Department of Finance, itself a

bastion of liberal leadership and staff, opposed the law giving

resulting raised labor costs as their reason (!). This law has not

been implemented yet, as California voters collected enough

signatures to put the measure on the ballot in 2024.

Additionally, Su wants to get rid of the "tip credit", which allows

workers to earn a lower minimum wage provided that their 

overall tips provide compensation at least equal to the statutory

minimum wage. Most workers, especially waiters and bartenders 

make much more in tips, and are therefore not supportive of 

dumping the tip credit. They have demonstrated their dislike of 

this maneuver in defeating an initiative in very lefty Portland, 

Maine last year.

Despite Julie Su's record the Senate confirmed her as deputy 

secretary, and now she is bucking for a promotion with the

president's blessings. The country needs a fair and credible

arbiter, not a stooge for the unions. The Senate must turn down

President Biden's choice to head the Department of Labor and

make him choose a more sensible candidate.

MEM