Obama Nominates Pro-Worker Attorney for Secretary of LaborMarch 18, 2013 IBEW leaders are praising President Obama’s March18 nomination of civil-rights attorney Thomas Perez for Secretary of Labor.
Perez, an assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights, has a long history of advocacy for workers’ and civil rights. He previously served as Maryland’s secretary of labor where he fought for tougher regulations to end workplace fraud and helped boost the number of apprenticeship programs. Baltimore Local 24 Business Manager Roger Lash, who served under Perez as director of the state’s apprentice and training program, says:
In Maryland, Perez worked against the practice of misclassification of workers as independent contractors, which costs workers and taxpayers millions of dollars each year. He was one of the driving forces behind the 2009 Workplace Fraud Act, which provided for tougher penalties for employee misclassification. Baltimore Building and Construction Trades Council President Rod Easter, who is also a Local 24 member:
The son of Dominican immigrants, Perez worked in the civil rights division of the Justice Department in the 1980s. Leaving the federal government in 2001, he went on to win a seat on the Montgomery County Council, a suburb of Washington D.C. During his tenure on the council, he was known for his vocal support of workers’ rights. As the Baltimore Sun reports:
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