Congressional Hispanic Caucus Meets with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Yesterday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) met with Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to discuss strengthening the rights and working conditions of workers, including OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards, the status of American Rescue Plan provisions—such as COBRA unemployment benefits—and the importance of having robust Latino representation across the Department of Labor's workforce. The meeting was chaired by Congressional Labor Caucus Co-Chair and CHC Member Linda Sánchez. Following the meeting, Rep. Sánchez released the statement below:

"Before I came to Congress, I was a labor lawyer and member of IBEW Local 441 in California. I am proud to have a card-carrying union member leading the Department of Labor and I thank Secretary Walsh for taking the time to meet with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) today," said Congresswoman Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA).

"As we work to recover from this pandemic, our commitment to workers' protection, equal access to good jobs, protecting the right to join a union, and expanding education and job training could not be more important. This is especially true for working Latino families who were economically vulnerable even before the pandemic. Latinos not only suffered higher rates of infection and death but made up the greatest share of the workforce in jobs that had to be completed in person. The CHC appreciates the Secretary's commitment to Building Back Better with the sacrifices of those American families in mind."

"With the support of President Joe Biden, the CHC continues to push for robust, permanent solutions to our broken immigration system, including passage of the U.S. Citizenship Act. We are grateful for the Secretary's support for immigrants, and we look forward to working with him to ensure no worker is taken advantaged of because of his or her immigrations status."

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), founded in December 1976, is organized as a Congressional Member organization, governed under the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives. The CHC is dedicated to voicing and advancing, through the legislative process, issues affecting Hispanics in the United States, Puerto Rico and U.S. Territories.