“The fact that people don't like labor unions - when workers say they don't like labor unions, it kind of astonishes me because what I see labor unions doing, they advocate on behalf of working people. They fight for better working conditions. They fight for higher wages.”

American politician and trade union official

Martin Joseph Walsh is an American politician and trade union official. He served as mayor of Boston from 2014 to 2021 and as the 29th United States secretary of labor from 2021 to 2023. A Democrat, Walsh first served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 13th Suffolk district from 1997 to 2014. In labor leadership, he rose to head the Boston Building Trades Council from 2011 to 2013. He later left the labor department in March 2023 to become executive director of the National Hockey League Players' Association.