Acting Labor Secretary Su talks jobs report and port strike

Secretary Sue, thanks so much for joining me on Jobs Friday. It's always great to have you on the program. Always good to see you. Very strong jobs report across the board, whether it was non-farm payrolls, average hourly earnings, the unemployment rate dropping. To what do you owe this major rebound? And frankly, is it an anomaly? I mean, again, we have seen month after month for the last four years, really, strong economic recovery. Many people predicted this would not be possible. There was no way we could come back from the economy that we inherited from the last administration, the impact of the pandemic, with no national strategy in the past, and do what we've done. And I think this is leadership. It's strong economic policy. It's workers being able to exercise their power. And it's companies helping to fuel a record recovery, 254,000 jobs created last month. The two months before that, there were also upward adjustments. The unemployment rate remains at or near 4% for the longest stretch since before most of us were born. And this is, again, most people thought it would not be possible, but it is. If you invest big in America, if you put working people first, and if you have solid leadership, I think that makes a really big difference. We really saw this report bucking the trend. You mentioned the revisions upward. Typically, we've seen revisions downward on preceding reports. Again, do you think this is an anomaly? And what does this say to you about the integrity of the data on initial reading, the fact that we're seeing such volatility with the revisions? So let's remember, again, the data that we report every month is the gold standard. We report the facts. Now, we also report when we get additional data. So sometimes that means a downward revision. Sometimes it means an upward revision. That has always been the case for decades. This is the way that the numbers come out. The fact that they've been strong month after month, year after year under this administration makes them not an anomaly. This is strong, stable, steady job growth. It's the very definition of a solid recovery. And we continue to see that every single month. And we need to keep that up. We need to keep that work until everybody feels it. But this month, it's a very good story. Turning to the port strike, which concluded after three days. You were a major broker at the bargaining table. You spent the whole day yesterday in New Jersey with both parties. Walk us through what unfolded there. We know this is a deal that lasts through the middle of January. There's still lingering issues on automation. What can you fill us in when it comes to automation as well? So this is another example of how collective bargaining works. It isn't always pretty. Sometimes, you know, sometimes it's messy. But it is good for working people and it's good for employers. Because when workers have a voice, they can help to define their working conditions. We've seen historic wage increases, not just here for the longshoremen, you know, getting what they deserve. But we've seen it from hospitality to health care, from autoworkers to airline flight attendants. We are seeing a moment of growing equality and equity in the workplace where people who are profiting by the billions are understanding that they've got to do right by their workers. And I praise the companies, too, for coming forward with a fair offer. So that happens when there's collective bargaining, right? That's why we need good contracts, because workers get a say. And the longshoremen do a difficult and often dangerous job. And it's a good, honest living. And this initial agreement is going to help make sure that it remains a good, honest living. I'll say, just to give you a little bit of color, you know, when this agreement was about to be reached, those longshoremen were ready to get back to work. They know the ports need to be open. They were ready to open back up last night on the night shift. You know, we were still nailing down the details, but the ports are up and humming again, because when workers have a voice, when unions are strong, when employers come to the table with fairness, the outcomes are good for everybody. What about the automation piece? Because that's still a lingering, outstanding concern for the union. That's right. So that's the other great thing about collective bargaining, is they will be able to talk about that, right? The parties will be able to think about what automation is going to make us more productive, what automation is going to make our ports safer, right? Can you get the union on board, though, for this? Well, the point is that they're going to be able to negotiate, right? And we saw that with the writers and the actors, right? We've seen that with hospitality and health care workers, people being able to have a say, it's helpful, right? This idea that somehow workers are anti-innovation is just false. I mean, they're often the most innovative because they know what's needed to improve the workplace, right? When they have a better voice in their own safety, they help make products safer. So the bargaining is what is going to, you know, that's where that issue is going to be fleshed out between the parties. And I'm sure they're going to... With the 62% increase in pay over the next six years, what's the risk of inflation making its way back into supply chain prices? Could this be inflationary? So let me say a couple of things about that. The first thing is, you know, again, these are good, decent jobs in which people have been able to raise their families, been able to build up their communities. They also work really long hours. And so, you know, it's such an example of how the working people of this country really make everything run. These guys literally make goods move. And as a result, companies, you know, the carriers, for example, have seen enormous profits, you know, from 2020 to 2024. Their profits have grown astronomically. And that also means, you know, much higher, you know, payments to shareholders and to CEOs. The fact that they're now going to have a share to their workers is exactly what we need to see happen. It is a false choice to say, though, then, that consumers have to pay, right? Because there's so much in profit that we can have a world in which working people do well and consumers don't have to pay, you know, don't have to pay more than they need to. And let's be clear, like a lot of workers are the consumers, right? So what's good for working people is really good for our economy. And before I let you go, does the union's wage increase confirm that wages are not coming back to that pre-COVID trend of two and a half percent? And now that we have seen such increases in wages for unions across this country over the past year, does that spill over into the private sector? Do we see a ripple effect? Right. I mean, a lot of these are private sector jobs where we're seeing this kind of wage growth. And you are never going to hear me say that more wages in the pockets of working families is a bad thing. And again, we are seeing that that is lifting up security. It's allowing people to get a little bit more breathing room. It's allowing people to, you know, take some time off to feel joy, to spend time with their families and then to retire with dignity. That's the vision of the economy that we have.