Julie Su Slated for Senate Grilling Thursday

California’s former Department of California Labor and Workforce Development Agency chief Julie Su will face a Senate committee Thursday as part of her wobbly quest to become President Joe Biden’s new Secretary of Labor.

Su has served as the federal Department of Labor’s chief deputy for the past two years, barely squeaking through her initial Senate confirmation for that position on a strict party-line vote.

Prior to taking her act to the road to DC, Su oversaw the state’s Employment Development Department as it managed to firehose nearly $40 billion to fraudsters while simultaneously improperly delaying and/or denying the legitimate pandemic unemployment claims of millions of Californians.

That fraud-caused debt still hangs over California as the state had to borrow federal dollars to be able to cover unemployment claims.  The current outstanding debt, as of midnight yesterday, $19,099,192,940.32 in principal and $165,835,461.25 for a total of $19,265,028,401.57.  All of that debt – which will be paid for by an increase in the unemployment insurance tax every business in California must pay – and then some was made possible by Su’s failure to install even the most rudimentary fraud-prevention systems.

“Julie Su is the most radical and flawed nominee for U.S. Labor Secretary in recent memory. Her record demonstrates that she is not interested in acting as an advocate for workers or employers, but instead supports anti-worker, anti-business policies that suit her own radical agenda,” said Rachel Tripp of Stand Against Su, a DC-based lobbying effort to stop her confirmation as Secretary of Labor.   “Su’s confirmation could threaten the livelihoods of thousands of Americans – it is critical that Senators from both sides of the aisle step up to oppose Su’s nomination.”

As part of its on-going effort against Su, Tripp’s group has placed advertisements in newspapers across the country, including this one appearing in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal calling her “anti-labor:”

Even before tomorrow’s expected rough hearing, Su’s confirmation has been hanging by a thread as at least three Democratic senators may vote no and no Republicans are expected to vote yes in the floor vote sometime after the hearing.  With the Senate currently standing at 50 Democrats and 49 Republicans (with Sen. Dianne Feinstein still out,) if two Democrats vote “No” Su is toast.

Su’s nomination is troubled for a number of reasons, only one of them being the disaster – most likely the largest single government agency de-frauding in history – she oversaw.  Her adamantine support for California’s AB 5, which threw the freelance/gig workforce into turmoil, is seen as a major stumbling block, especially considering her support for the PRO Act, which would essentially take California’s devastating labor policies national.

Also causing concern are her extremely close ties to labor groups, raising the specter of the Department of Labor being “captured” by big unions, including those that represent government workers.

Su, say opponents, has a long history of activism, supporting top priorities for politically connected labor unions whom she has aligned herself with, a serious problem considering the Labor Department is 

supposed to be a neutral enforcer of labor laws.  She has reportedly met often with leaders of unions like the mostly government employee-based SEIU but has failed to meet with private employers.

Combine her disastrous tenure overseeing the EDD, her anti-independent worker stance, and her close ties to organized labor make her unfit for the job, said Tom Manzo, President and Founder of the California Business and Industrial Alliance – https://cabia.org/ .

“Julie Su’s tenure as the top labor official in California was defined by failure and incompetence,” Manzo said.  “Su’s support for anti-worker, anti-business policies coupled with her negligence while overseeing the largest unemployment fraud in the state’s history, makes her unfit to run the United States labor department. She should not be allowed to fail upwards.”

Su’s hearing in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee begins at 10 a.m. (Eastern time, 7 a.m. California time) Thursday and can be seen on C-SPAN 3 here:  https://www.c-span.org/networks/?channel=c-span-3