This week in the War on Workers: Hilda Solis on undoing the Bush administration's harm to workers

Outgoing Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis had a big job just turning things around from the anti-worker neglect of the Bush administration. As she tells The Nation,

This was, in essence, one of the agencies that really did not have sufficient support by the previous administration. In fact, I heard story upon story that when people would call in to make complaints that they weren't being paid appropriately or were being terminated unlawfully they would not be acknowledged. They went in some file. Investigations weren't being done. We changed that. Went out to work with different stakeholder groups, did it more strategically, looked across the board and began to systemically go after the most egregious violators. It sent a message. I'm happy, because as a result you see more people getting their back wages. We have a record for providing $280 million worth of collected back wages for more than 300,000 workers. And that's just a beginning. It's historic.

Solis will be missed; her experience is also an important reminder of ways presidents affect workers' lives that don't tend to register much in campaigns.