President Trump’s pick to head the Labor Department, Florida law school dean Alexander Acosta, picked up a notable union endorsement just several hours after the nomination was announced Thursday.
The International Union of Operating Engineers said it was “pleased” with Trump’s nomination of Acosta, who was an assistant attorney general for civil rights during President George W. Bush’s administration and a former U.S. attorney for the southern district of Florida. He also served on the National Labor Relations Board from 2002-3, and he had been a law clerk for Samuel Alito before Alito was named to the Supreme Court.
“In his prior posts, Mr. Acosta has proven himself to be a dedicated public servant known to be fair and open minded,” said union General President James T. Callahan. “In addition, Mr. Acosta has proven that he can handle disparate opinions and information in order to make thoughtful decisions on difficult issues. These qualities are essential to lead an agency that is tasked with such things as protecting workers from wage theft to enforcing standards that keep them safe on the job.”
The union backed him in 2003 when was was appointed Bush’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, Callahan noted.
“In 2017, we look forward to supporting him again as secretary of labor and to working with him to improve the working conditions of operating engineers and all workers throughout the United States,” he said.
Others in organized labor have been more cautious toward Acosta. “We will, of course, review Mr. Acosta’s record as thoroughly as we did the previous nominee’s. Mr. Acosta will have to answer tough questions and explain how he will enforce and uphold labor laws to benefit working people and not further tilt the balance of power toward corporate CEOs,” said Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO labor federation.
Acosta was picked by Trump on Thursday to replace fast-food businessman Andrew Puzder, who withdrew his nomination Wednesday after it became clear he did not have enough support from Republican lawmakers to win the nomination. Puzder drew fierce opposition from organized labor, which lobbied extensively against his bid.
