WASHINGTON, DC--SEIU President Andy Stern issued the following statement in response to reports that President-elect Barack Obama will nominate Representative Hilda Solis as U.S. Secretary of Labor.

As someone who has pounded the pavement knocking on doors for Hilda Solis in her first upset campaign in California, I can tell you firsthand that this woman is about opening doors for millions of Americans who get up and go to work each day.

"From the streets of Los Angeles where she marched with the janitors who were fighting for jobs with dignity that can support a family through SEIU's Justice for Janitors campaigns, to the halls of Congress where she has been an outspoken supporter of healthcare rights for all, a livable minimum wage, and workers' right to come together for a voice on the job, Hilda Solis has never backed down from the good fight to make the American Dream available to all.

"The daughter of two immigrant workers and union members and a board member of American Rights at Work, she will be a Secretary of Labor working men and women can finally count on to stand up and fight for them. For Representative Solis, the American Dream is not an abstraction. Her parents met in a citizenship class. She understands personally the challenges workers face in a global economy and the need for a bold new agenda that expands healthcare for everyone and gives American workers a greater choice and a greater voice. For Representative Solis, serving as Secretary of Labor will not just be a job, but the culmination of a lifetime of action serving as a voice for people who work."

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