Hilda L. Solis

California State Assembly

In 1992, Solis was elected to the California State Assembly. After one term, she ran in 1994 for the California Senate and became the first Latina elected to that body. She chaired the powerful Senate Industrial Relations Committee and led the 1996 battle to increase the state's minimum wage. She wrote 1999 environmental justice legislation that was the first of its kind in the country and authored 17 state laws aimed at ending domestic violence.“Long Biography,” on Solis’s official House Web site    

U.S. Congress

First elected to Congress in 2000, after defeating nine-term incumbent Democrat Matthew G. Martinez in the Democratic primary, Solis represents California’s 32nd district, which includes portions of east Los Angeles with a heavy Hispanic population. Solis’ priorities in Congress included “expanding access to affordable health care, protecting the environment, and improving the lives of working families,” according to her official biography.“Long Biography,” on Solis’s official House Web site

In Congress, Solis was the first Latina to serve on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, and was vice chair of that panel’s Environment and Hazardous Materials and Health and Telecommunications subcommittees. Solis also served on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. She also served on the Education and the Workforce Committee.

Solis chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus task force on health and the environment. She was also co-chair of the Congressional Women’s Caucus and played a key role in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2006, according to her official biography.“Long Biography,” on Solis’s official House Web site

Obama Administration

Obama nominated Solis to the Labor post in December 2008. But Obama's cabinet picks were plagued by tax troubles, which felled fellow nominees Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer. Controversy over a tax lien place on one of Solis' husband's business ventures mired her confirmation process in Senate haggling, but she was eventually confirmed in February 2009.

“We’re thrilled,” then Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern told Bloomberg after her appointment was announced. “She’s been as strong a voice for justice for SEIU workers like our janitors and homecare workers as we’ve ever had.”Chapman, Kim and Julia Goldman, “Congress’s Solis to be Obama’s Pick for Labor Post (Update3),” Bloomberg News, December 18, 2008 

Trade

In 2005, Solis opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). She told the The New York Times that the North American Free Trade Agreement had resulted in “750,000 jobs lost in the United States and little progress in improving workers' rights in Mexico.”Becker, Elizabeth, "Free Trade Pact Faces Trouble in Congress," The New York Times, May 10, 2005

But Solis’ opposition to trade agreements will be balanced by Obama’s pick for U.S. Trade Representative: Ron Kirk, the former Dallas mayor, who generally supports free trade. “With his choices of a labor secretary and a trade representative, Mr. Obama appears to have sought to appeal to each side in the battle over free trade,” the New York Times wrote.Cooper, Helene and Stephen Greenhouse, “Picks for Labor and Trade Positins Disagree on Policy,” The new York Times, December 18, 2008   

Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)

One of Solis' main priorities is to lead the charge on EFCA, which would make it easier for workers to unionize. Though it is fiercely opposed by business interests, it is organized labor's top legislative priority. Nonetheless, action was stalled during the early part of the Obama administration as the economy continued to suffer and congressional support was lukewarm. Chapman, Kim and Julia Goldman, “Congress’s Solis to be Obama’s Pick for Labor Post (Update3),” Bloomberg News, December 18, 2008 

EFCA contains a controversial measure opponents call “card check” th workers to forego a secret-ballot election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board in order for workers to unionize. Instead, it would have forced employers to recognize a union once more than 50 percent of their employees sign up authorization forms or “cards.”Chapman, Kim and Julia Goldman, “Congress’s Solis to be Obama’s Pick for Labor Post (Update3),” Bloomberg News, December 18, 2008 

Solis, whose parents were union members, favored the “card check” provision, and Obama pledged to support the legislation. Michaels, Seth, “Obama Reaffirms Support of Freedom to Form Unions,” AFL-CIO NOW Blog, December 11, 2008 

But business interests lined up against the measure, saying such a system would “deny employees a secret-ballot election and make them more vulnerable to union scare tactics,” Bloomberg News reported.Chapman, Kim and Julia Goldman, “Congress’s Solis to be Obama’s Pick for Labor Post (Update3),” Bloomberg News, December 18, 2008    It wasn't just Republicans raling against card-check, the proposal drew fire from moderate Democrats, and even the Rev. Al Sharpton. Ambinder, Marc, The Atlantic, "Lincoln 'Undecided' on Card Check; Al Sharpton Opposes," December 17, 2008

In July 2009, Democrats said they were willing to withdraw the "card-check" provision from the bill.  They said the remaining bill would still make it easier for workers to unionize by shortening the union elections.Greenhouse, Steve, "Democrats Drop Key Part of Bill to Assist Unions," The New York Times, July 16, 2009

Green-Collar Employment

From her time as a California state senator, Solis has focused on environmental issues. She authored a 1999 California bill defining the term “environmental justice” in order to stop toxic waste dumping in poor neighborhoods. Davis, Bob and Laura Meckler, “Obama’s Picks Show Split on Trade,” The Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2008    It was the first of its kind in the nation to become law.

In the U.S. House, Solis fought in 2003 for a federal study on conserving a watershed area in her district. “San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains Special Resources Study,” National Park Service Web site   She also spearheaded the Green Jobs Act of 2007, which offered training in “green-collar” employment for workers. Environmental blogs began calling her the “most important environmental heroine you've never heard of.” Jones, Van, “U.S. House Takes First Step toward Passing ‘Green Jobs Act of 2007,’” Gristmill Blog, June 29, 2007

Immigration

Solis has been a strong supporter of issues important to the Latino community, including immigration and naturalization. She helped pass a law making it easier for non-U.S. citizens serving in the U.S. military to get U.S. citizenship.