Past WRC Board Members in Key Posts at US Labor Department

I am very glad to share the news that WRC Board Member Julie Su was confirmed by the US Senate last week as Deputy United States Secretary of Labor, the number two position at the US Department of Labor. The WRC team has known Deputy Secretary Su for many years but began working with her closely when, as California’s Labor Commissioner, she asked the WRC to train her statewide staff on techniques for workplace investigation. She joined the WRC Board in 2017. While Deputy Secretary Su is, of course, unable to stay on the Board in her new capacity, her contributions to the WRC’s work will be lasting. We know she will bring her immense talents to bear as a passionate and highly effective advocate for the Department of Labor’s mission to protect and promote the rights of workers, across the US and globally. We are looking forward to working with her in this vital new role.

I also want to let you know that another former WRC Board member has been appointed to a senior position in the US Department of Labor: Thea Lee, who served on the WRC Board from 2004 to 2010, has been selected by President Biden to be the Deputy Undersecretary of Labor for International Affairs. In that capacity, she heads the Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) and is one of the most senior officials in the US government charged with advancing worker rights at the global level. Deputy Undersecretary Lee, who served as Executive Director of the Economic Policy Institute prior to her appointment,  brings an extraordinary depth and breadth of expertise to this critically important post. The WRC looks forward to continued partnership with ILAB under her leadership.