Alexis Herman, RIP

Alexis Herman was a weak Secretary of Labor. She wasn’t really a labor person at all outside of a brief period in the Carter administration, but rather a Democratic insider for Bill Clinton to find a good position for, not to mention find a good spot for a Black woman at the moment Democrats wanted to make sure boxes were checked. Clinton didn’t care about this department much at all and Robert Reich’s frustrations in the role reflected that. Herman didn’t have much pull and she didn’t have many illusions either. But she did do a really good job working out the UPS strike in 1997 and supported some smaller bills that became law that helped workers around the edges. Given the indifference of Clinton on labor issues, this was pretty solid work. RIP.