Obama’s final cabinet choice is also his most progressive. Hilda Solis, the daughter of a Teamsters shop steward has been on the front lines of every big labor battle in Southern California in recent memory and has been very good on immigration, green jobs, and trade. The question is, will she have the president’s ear?

According to Lori Wallach of Global Trade Watch there is the real danger that Obama will be largely influenced by his economic advisers and trade representative Ron Kirk, a former Dallas Mayor and a recent lobbyist at a corporate law firm representing big energy companies. With a cabinet full of former Clinton insiders–including Rahm Emanuel, a vigorous supporter of NAFTA–it’s not clear what Obama’s trade and labor policies will be. Wallach says that not only will trade agreements have to be revised but that the US’s China policy needs serious attention. To find out more about Global Trade Watch’s effort to Close Santa’s Sweatshop–the one in China–visit Public Citizen.  

On GRITtv Jonathan Tasini Executive Director of the Labor Research Association, Mark Brenner the Director of Labor Notes, Lori Wallach Director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, and Christina Vazquez International Vice President of UNITE HERE! discuss the Solis nomination, the auto industry bailout, and labor’s future. 

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