By SEUNG MIN KIM and JOSH BOAK

WASHINGTON-- President Joe Biden said Wednesday that his labor secretary candidate Julie Su is a "genuine leader" who has actually supported unions, enforced employee safety and secured the victims of human trafficking.

" Julie is the American dream," Biden said in remarks at the White House. "She's committed to making sure that dream is in grab every American"

The child of an immigrant mother who arrived on a cargo ship, Su stated she thinks "in the transformative power of America." She kept in mind that a union task provided her parents a course to the middle class, one that eventually led her to college at Stanford University and law school at Harvard University.

" To all employees who are toiling in the shadows, know that we see you, we stand with you, and we will fight for you," Su said.

Su, the present deputy labor secretary, would change the departing incumbent, previous Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, whom Biden hailed by saying, "If I ever want any person in the foxhole with me, I desire Marty Walsh."

A civil rights attorney and previous head of California's labor department, Su was central to negotiations between labor and freight rail business late in 2015, working to prevent an economically incapacitating strike. She likewise has worked to broaden worker training programs and punish wage theft. Su would also be the first Asian American in the Biden administration to serve in the Cabinet at the secretary level if validated by the Senate.

When Biden won the White House however instead ended up being the department's deputy, su was considered to lead the department. Walsh revealed his intent to leave the administration previously this month to lead the National Hockey League Players' Association. Su will function as the acting secretary until the Senate acts on her election.

Biden had been under pressure from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and other Asian American and Pacific Islander promotes to select Su to head the department. This administration was the very first in more than twenty years to not have a Cabinet secretary of AAPI descent, in spite of its routine declarations that it was the most diverse in history. Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai are of AAPI descent but do not lead a Cabinet department.

Su, if confirmed, would likewise expand the majority of ladies serving in the president's Cabinet. She was verified by the Senate to her existing function in 2021 by a 50-- 47 vote.

Su's election drew quick assistance from Democrats on Capitol Hill, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer saying Tuesday that she would be "sensational" in the task.

" The president couldn't have actually picked a better nominee," he told reporters. "I'm actually excited about her, and we're going to transfer to consider her election extremely, extremely rapidly."

But Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate labor, health and education committee who opposed Su when she was selected for deputy secretary, called her work managing the department "uncomfortable" and "anti-worker.".

The committee must "have a full and extensive hearing process," Cassidy stated.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom designated Su to lead the state Labor and Workforce Development Agency, that included the department responsible for paying welfare during the pandemic.

The state had enormous quantity of scams, approximated at $20 billion. Almost all of that scams became part of a hastily approved expansion of unemployment benefits by Congress that state officials said lacked key safeguards. However a state audit likewise blamed Newsom's administration for "considerable mistakes and inactiveness.".

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., who chairs the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, stated she was "thrilled" by the choice, thanking Biden in a tweet for "nominating your first AAPI Cabinet Secretary!".

" It definitely is better late than never," Chu stated in a brief interview, pointing out CAPAC support for Su 2 years ago for the top Labor post and praising Su's qualifications as a leader and enforcer of labor laws including minimum wage and occupational security standards. She said GOP criticism about Su had been completely vetted 2 years back and that the coming verification process will reveal their charges "have no basis.".

Su's nomination likewise comes at an essential minute for labor unions, which have actually been facing a decline in membership for decades. Unions got some momentum as employees at significant companies such as Amazon and Starbucks pushed to unionize. However Biden-- an avowed pro-union president-- had to work with Congress to enforce a contract on rail employees in 2015 to avoid a possible strike.

The Labor Department said just 10.1% of workers in 2015 were union members. That figure has been cut almost in half since 1983 and might fall even more, as younger employees are less most likely to come from unions.

Associated Press writers Adam Beam in Sacramento and Mary Clare Jalonick and Hope Yen in Washington contributed to this report.