Public Employee Press

After months of Republican obstructionism
U.S. Senate approves Obama labor nominees

The U.S. Senate recently overrode months of Republican delaying tactics to confirm President Barack Obama’s nominations for Labor Dept. positions that are crucial to protecting workers from violations of wage and safety laws.

Respected scientist and safety advocate Dr. David Michaels will now head the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. And former New York State Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith, known for her vigorous action against minimum wage and over-time violations, will be the nation’s top labor lawyer.

After the eight Bush years of favoritism to business, Michaels aims to restore OSHA to its historic role protecting the nation’s working people from on-the-job accidents and diseases.

A lifelong safety activist, Michaels and the Montefiore Hospital medical students he brought to DC 37 worked closely with the union’s Safety Dept. in the early 1980s to protect members from exposure to toxic chemicals and the ergonomic hazards of working at computer terminals.

Fearing he would move to implement strong workplace health and safety regulations, Republicans and industry lobbyists blocked his confirmation for four months. Michaels, expected to use his knowledge and passion to steer the agency back to vigilance on workplace safety, has already moved to shift more OSHA staff to enforcement duties.

Smith’s nomination as Labor Dept. solicitor — the chief enforcer of U.S. labor laws — also drew fierce opposition from business and Republicans. Representing fewer people than four of New York’s boroughs, Wyoming Republican Sen. Michael B. Enzi spearheaded the nine-month delay in Smith’s confirmation.

Her job will involve cleaning up the disarray created by the Bush administration’s failure to enforce workers’ legal protections. Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin said her “expertise is needed now more than ever when American workers are struggling and deserve a strong advocate."

With 16 U.S. workers killed every day due to reckless negligence by their employers, and millions cheated out of pay and overtime every year, President Obama made a strong commitment to workers’ rights by picking Smith and Michaels.