“I can’t think of anyone…who brings to the table the skillset and the experiences that you bring to the table.”
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper voiced his support for Julie Su to become the next secretary to head the Department of Labor at a nomination hearing in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. The Biden Administration nominated Su in February to replace Secretary Marty Walsh as the next department leader.
“As a child of small business owners, your firsthand experience gives you insight into what it’s like to run a franchise, to be a small business person as a first generation American. You understand what so many workers and families across this country are facing every day. I think your focus on being transformative for so many people is unbelievably powerful,” said Hickenlooper in the hearing.
Su brings decades of experience to the department, including work on wage theft, anti-trafficking measures, and training partnerships that connect Americans to good-paying jobs, with or without a four-year degree.
For full video of his remarks, click HERE
During the hearing, Su doubled-down on her commitment to work to increase access to apprenticeship opportunities and job training programs outside a traditional four-year degree.
Hickenlooper: “We talked previously about how apprenticeship maybe needs a rebranding, and a [refresh]. A big impediment is convincing not just students, but their parents, that this is an experience that might be a good fit. We need to rebrand it so it doesn’t drag down the opportunities for so many people.”
Su: “One of the challenges we face as we seek to expand the manufacturing sector [is] …we need to rebrand some of the jobs… the jobs are new, and there are ways to do them that are different and also make them much more accessible to whole communities that may not have been included before. I think making it clear that a pathway to an apprenticeship for someone who is going to get a job that doesn’t require a four-year degree is just as valid, is just as worthy of our respect and our praise as going to a four-year college is something I commit to you, and I know it’s something you care deeply about.”
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