Hilda Solis

In her first official speech, the new U.S. secretary of labor made clear her support of working families.

Hilda Solis told a rally of union and community activists in Miami that some of her predecessors "were prioritizing going after unions. You can rest assured that there is a new sheriff in town."

Solis is the first Latina to serve as labor secretary. The daughter of two union members, she is a former California state senator who first won election to Congress by defeating a Democratic incumbent in a primary — after that lawmaker voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Solis told the Miami crowd that one of the Obama administration's top priorities is to provide protection for workers in the workplace. She pledged to work with employers on providing jobs with livable wages.

"Productivity by our work force, especially union members, has increased. But we don't see the same value in terms of their wages going up," Solis said.

The AFL-CIO predicted Solis "will be a vigorous champion for rebuilding a strong middle class and restoring balance to our economy."

Her confirmation had been delayed for several weeks by anti-union senators, including Mitch McConnell from Kentucky, the husband of Bush-era Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.

An early Congressional supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act, Solis said she would work to pass and then enforce the legislation. Her support of the free choice bill sets up what will be one of the most contentious debates in Congress this year. Despite opponents' claims, the bill would not take away the secret-ballot election process under current federal law, if workers seeking to form a union want to use it.

It would take away an employer's right to insist on a secret-ballot election to determine whether workers want a union.

"Workers having the right to choose is a principal strength of the bill," said NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi. "It would enable the employees, not management or their high-priced anti-union law firms, to make the decision about how they choose to be represented by a union."