Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the most influential flight attendant union in the U.S., is in the running to be the U.S. Secretary of Labor.
The Biden administration is vetting Nelson as well as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Su to head the Department of Labor once current Labor Secretary Marty Walsh steps down in March. Nelson has already been endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent from Vermont, who called her a leading voice for workers rights in a letter he sent to President Joe Biden. She played a key role in helping secure $25 billion in relief funds for the airline industry early in the pandemic.
Nelson, who has served as the president of the AFA-CWA since 2014, recently came out in support of the proposed $3.8 billion merger between JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines, calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to approve the deal.
