Joe Biden “goes to the mat” for Julie Su – his pick to lead the Department of Labor. But Senate Democrats aren’t convinced she’s right for the job. 

Su cleared the Senate HELP Committee on a party-line vote in April, but her nomination is languishing in the full Senate. Some senators like Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) are actively seeking alternative nominees to Su. This isn’t the sign of confidence Biden is looking for.

Business leaders from Arizona and West Virginia are calling on their Senators to oppose Julie Su because she would be a disaster for small businesses and workers. Republican Senators have heard that message loud and clear – that’s why 33 U.S. Senators sent a letter urging President Biden to withdraw Julie Su’s nomination.

See excerpts below or read the full letter here:

“In her capacity as the head of California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency, Ms. Su was the architect of a law that forced independent contractors in the state to reclassify themselves as W-2 employees, and she did not hesitate to express her willingness to enforce this law, threatening investigations and audits to the wage claim process for workers who did not comply. When asked about her position on this issue and if she would institute a similar policy as U.S. Secretary of Labor, Ms. Su has been consistently evasive in responding, despite offering strong public support for this policy prior to her current nomination.

Ms. Su was further evasive to senators by failing to produce requested documentation that showed she instructed her staff to hide individuals that were subject to investigations by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement officials when she served as California State Labor Commissioner.

Strong concerns from the small business community have also been expressed over Ms. Su’s approach to the current franchise business model, citing her support of California legislation that gave authority to government appointees to make decisions regarding wages and working conditions at independently owned restaurants across the state.

In the past three months since she was nominated to be Secretary of Labor, Ms. Su has given senators no indication that her past positions and actions are not indicative of future positions and actions she would take as Secretary. She has avoided answering questions whenever possible and she has refrained from providing distinct specificity to her answers when she has responded to inquiries.

Given this present state of affairs, we respectfully urge you to withdraw the nomination. We appreciate your responsiveness to this request, and ask for prompt confirmation that the nomination of Julie A. Su is formally withdrawn.”

Will Joe Biden and Senate Democrats side with America’s small businesses by rejecting unqualified Julie Su?

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