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Who is Mayor Marty Walsh? Joe Biden’s special bond with his labor secretary pick, 1st union member in 50 years

Despite the concerns regarding the lack of diversity, the reason behind Biden's choice seems to be more about seeking approval and support from labor unions and leaders

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is reportedly President-elect Joe Biden's pick to serve as his labor secretary. Walsh is a former top union leader. According to reports, this has been confirmed by sources who are in the know and it comes in the face of a selection process that split the labor movement and had even given rise to diversity concerns among Democrats. The other candidates who were being considered include representatives Andy Levin of Michigan, former Deputy Labor Secretary Seth Harris, California Labor Secretary Julie Su and AFL-CIO Chief Economist Bill Spriggs.

Despite the concerns regarding the lack of diversity, the reason behind Biden's choice seems to be more about seeking approval and support from labor unions and leaders. Biden's relationship with labor unions in the past four decades hints at his administration possibly setting itself up to be the most labor-friendly. One of his central plans for his term was labor reform and in keeping with this, he was expected to choose at least one labor union leader to be a part of his cabinet and Walsh fits all of this. The Boston Mayor also has a close and personal relationship with Biden. 

A look at the relationship between Marty Walsh and Joe Biden

Walsh and Biden go some way back. Biden had been present at the mayor's inauguration that had taken place in 2017. Later the two had also attended the anniversary memorial of the marathon bombings. They had also been a part of the Stop and Shop workers rally. The most personal of their appearances was when the two had stepped out for ice-cream in Boston. At this time, a statement from the mayor's press office read, "They talked about Mayor Walsh’s reelection campaign and his vision for the city, Vice President Biden’s foundation and his work to further cancer research, as well as strengthening the middle class and ending violence against women."

Biden had also tweeted about meeting Walsh in 2017 and had said, "Great to see Mayor @marty_walsh, and hear about everything he's doing to keep Boston strong."

Walsh despite being asked to comment about being one of the candidates for labor secretary has been tight-lipped. All that he had to say was, "I’m excited about what a Biden-Harris administration means for Boston," in November. He added, "While it's an honor to be mentioned among the many highly qualified individuals being considered for a role in the Biden administration, I am focused on my job as mayor."

However, it must be noted that Walsh hadn't endorsed Biden during the primary and had decided to stay neutral. He was also speculated to compete in the 2021 elections to possibly be elected as mayor for another term.