AFGE Weighs In On Hilda Solis

The American Federation of Government Employees becomes the first federal employee union to weigh in on Obama's selection of Hilda Solis to run the Labor Department. And they're super-happy about it:

“The selection of Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis represents a monumental shift from the policies of the past administration. Solis knows that unions are vital to the strength of our communities and that workers are the bedrock of our economy and of good government,” said John Gage AFGE national president. “We believe that Congresswoman Solis will inspire our members in the Department of Labor and rightly refocus the agency’s mission to defend workplace rights.”

Solis won't have jurisdiction over the National Labor Relations Board, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, or the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, so she won't necessarily transform federal labor relations. But I'm betting the AFGE mine inspectors are pretty excited about their new boss.