Dozens of local and state labor union organizers, workers and other interested individuals gathered Wednesday afternoon at Jackson’s Smith Robertson Museum to attend what was billed as a round table discussion with Acting United States Department of Labor Secretary Julie A. Su.
Su was introduced by retired state Rep. Jim Evans of Jackson who thanked the secretary for coming to Mississippi and said the state too often is viewed as “last in everything good and first in everything bad” when it comes to workers’ rights and wages.
“Thank you for speaking truth to power,” Su responded to Evans’ remarks. “We believe, and President Biden believes, that everybody should have a good job, live their lives with freedom, have dignity, and be able to lift up their communities.”
A graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, before joining the federal government Su was California State Labor Commissioner under Gov. Jerry Brown, then California Secretary of Labor under Gov. Gavin Newsom. During that time, she became well-known in labor law circles for representing dozens of illegally trafficked garment workers in a civil suit.