“Historians have often censored civil rights activists' commitment to economic issues and misrepresented the labor and civil rights movements as two separate, sometimes adversarial efforts. But civil rights and workers' rights are two sides of the same coin.”

American politician and attorney

Thomas Edward Perez is an American politician and attorney. He served in senior roles in the Obama and Biden administrations, and from 2023 to 2025 he was senior advisor to President Joe Biden and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Perez earlier served as U.S. secretary of labor from 2013 to 2017, chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2017 to 2021, and U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights from 2009 to 2013. His public work has centered on labor, civil rights, and political leadership.