US Senate locked Marty Walsh as the Labour Secretary by 68 votes in favour to 29 votes against on Monday. 

Boston Mayor Walsh will now oversee the federal department in charge of policies related to workplace rights, conditions and benefits. 

Serving as the mayor of Boston since 2014, the former Union boss had first joined the Laborers’ Union Local 223 when he was 21 years old. By 2011 he was leading the Boston Trades Council, an ironworker and electrician unions representative, reported CNN. 

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Post his confirmation, Walsh said, “Workers’ protection, equal access to good jobs, the right to join a union, continuing education and job training, access to mental health and substance use treatment. These are not just policies to me, I lived them. Millions of American families right now need them. I’ve spent my entire career at different levels fighting for them.”

Walsh suffered from cancer as a child and later followed in his father’s footsteps to join his union job. He has also recovered from addiction and said that all of these crucial experiences inform how he views the work of the Labor Department. 

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Walsh’s confirmation may expose fault lines and ask important questions about diversity and climate change, agendas which were sidelined during Biden’s campaign in his pursuit to defeat Trump.