EAST LOS ANGELES — Eastside Congresswoman Hilda Solis was confirmed by the Senate Tuesday as the nation’s next labor secretary.

Solis, 51, was first elected to office in 1985 as a member of the Rio Hondo Community College Board of Trustees and to the Assembly in 1992. In 1994, she became the first Latina elected to the state Senate, serving in that body for six years until becoming a congresswoman.

Solis received a bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly Pomona and a master’s degree in public administration from USC. She worked in the White House Office of Hispanic Affairs during the Carter administration, later becoming a management analyst with the Civil Rights Division of the Office of Management and Budget.

Then-President-elect Barack Obama announced her appointment in December, saying Solis regularly blazes “new trails every step of the way.”

“Whether it’s creating green jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced or expanding access to affordable health care or raising the minimum wage in California, Hilda has been a champion of our middle class, and I know that Hilda will show the same kind of leadership and vision as secretary of labor that she showed in California and on the Education and Labor Committee by protecting workers’ rights, from organizing to collective bargaining, from keeping our workplaces safe to making our unions strong,” Obama said at the time.

Some Senate Republicans had threatened to block Solis’ nomination, saying she had not provided answers about her position on critical issues. They also balked at her support of the so-called card-check bill, a top priority backed by Solis and Obama in the past that would allow workers to sign cards to unionize a workplace — potentially leading to millions of new union workers.

Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, hailed the Senate’s confirmation of Solis.

“Without a doubt, Ms. Solis will be a champion for working people — a role that Americans have failed to see in their secretary of labor in a very long time,” Durazo said.

“What gives me the most hope about Ms. Solis' new role is not her stance on worker issues, but about her ability to bring people together. That’s exactly what it’s going to take to fix this economic mess.”

California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres said he was “so proud of all that Secretary Solis has accomplished in her remarkable career.”

“Working men and women, as well as business and industry, will have a strong advocate and supporter as we work together to put our nation back to work,” Torres said of Solis, who had served as Torres’ chief of staff when he was a state senator.

Solis will resign her congressional seat representing the 32nd District, which extends from East Los Angels to the San Gabriel Valley.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have to schedule a special election to fill Solis’ seat.

Former Monterey Park City Councilman Judy Chu, who now serves as chair of the state Board of Equalization, has already announced her intention to seek the seat.

So has state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-East Los Angeles.

Another state senator, Gloria Romero originally announced plans to enter the race and then withdrew.

Another candidate is Emanuel Pleitez, who was a member of President Obama’s transition team.

Born and raised in East Los Angeles, Pleitez has also worked in the offices of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa during his tenure on the City Council and U.S. Senators Tom Daschle and Hillary Clinton on the Senate Democratic Steering and Coordination Committee.

An alum of Stanford University Pleitez also helped co-found the Alumni Foundation of Woodrow Wilson High School in El Sereno, his alma mater.