President-elect Barack Obama has chosen California Representative Hilda Solis for Secretary of Labor in his new administration.
Solis, a Democrat from California's 32nd District, was just re-elected to her fifth term in office. The district includes heavily Hispanic portions of eastern Los Angeles County and east L.A. The daughter of Mexican and Nicraguan immigrants, Rep. Solis is the only member of Congress of Central American descent.
During her tenure in Washington, Rep. Solis has focused on access to affordable health care, protecting the environment and helping working families. She has also been active on green initiatives, sponsoring the Green Jobs Act of 2007, which authorized $125 million to train workers for environmentally minded jobs such as installing solar panels and construction of energy efficient buildings.
"Congratulations to Congresswoman Solis on her appointment as Labor Secretary," remarked Western Territory GVP Lee Pearson. "Representative Solis cares about working family issues and will bring a fresh perspective to the Department of Labor after so many years of an anti-labor mindset and persistent efforts to weaken the union movement and workers' rights."
