Hilda Solis

“People have to be reminded that unions played a very historic role in our economy.”

“I want companies who get federal contracts to hire more women and minorities from the local area.”

“My role was to bring about fairness in the workplace. All I did was implement the laws that were currently on the books.”

“In my teens, I worked as an aide in my community supervising and mentoring youth in various programs and delivering lunches to needy students.”

“I grew up in a modest neighborhood just outside of Los Angeles. It was an industrial community of blue-collar, working people... some of the hardest-working people I've ever met.”

“No one has the right to threaten the health, education, and well-being of children by involving them in illegal or inappropriate work.”

“At times you feel like you're the only voice speaking out to improve the working conditions of people, whether it's to be able to collectively bargain, to get adequate pay, to know that you can come home safe out of a coal mine.”

“No family should have to depend on the labor of its children to put food on the table and no person should be forced to work in captivity.”

“My father was a member of the Teamsters Union in California, where he helped to organize better health care for workers. My mother worked for more than 20 years on an assembly line.”

“My parents were both union members, and I grew up hearing how important it was to empower workers and have fair labor practices.”

“The best advice I can give women at all levels is increase training. There are still areas where we have to break through that glass ceiling.”

“Well, I'll tell you, one of things I'm proud of is for someone from Southern California, who didn't grow up around coal mines, I learned a lot that tragic day we lost twenty-nine miners at Upper Big Branch coal mine.”

“Typically, during recessionary times, particular groups suffer higher rates of unemployment -African Americans, and Latinos, and in some cases other minority groups. If you don't have a high level of training or education you're going to fall into that category.”

“Protecting children and vulnerable workers abroad is a part of our overall efforts here at the Department of Labor.”

“Young people need the hands-on training that comes with a summer job. They need to know how to dress for success and nail job interviews. But most of all, they need mentorship, guidance, and inspiration.”

“I think President Obama wanted to have the right fit for his different cabinet positions, and I believe that experience is what mattered most to him. In my case, I have been working to improve the overall quality of life for working families for most of my adult life, and I think that experience resonated with the president.”

“We need women to go through apprentice programs. I've seen women who did, and who are now highly trained electricians and welders. These are jobs that women are capable of doing.”

“I saw the prospect of serving as labor secretary as a wonderful opportunity to further the policies that I have been fighting for my whole life, and I had to seize it.”

“My parents raised me and my six siblings with little money... but lots of love.”

“I would hope more people would have optimism about where the Latino has come. How we have emerged, and that there will be more women, women of color especially Latinas who will get involved.”