Alexis Herman

After Bill Clinton's victory in the 1992 Presidential election, Herman became deputy director of the Presidential Transition Office.[19] Clinton then appointed her director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, where she was responsible for the administration's relations with interest groups.[20] In that role, Herman repeatedly organized informal dinners to advance White House initiatives or assuage key groups.[20] She earned the support of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Congressional Black Caucus as part of her outreach efforts.[3] Herman also earned the respect of members of the business community as part of her effort to gain support for the Clinton Administration's trade deal, the North American Free Trade Agreement.[3] Her time as director also included the death of Commerce Secretary, and Herman's former boss at the Democratic National Committee, Ronald Brown in a plane crash. As director, Herman made arrangements for public and private grieving following the death. The tragedy strengthened Herman's bond with Present Clinton, who like Herman had been close to Brown.[18]

In 1996, President Clinton announced his intention to nominate Herman as Secretary of Labor to replace outgoing Secretary Robert Reich.[10][18] Labor unions publicly supported the nomination, although they had mostly supported other potential nominees such as Harris Wofford, Esteban Edward Torres, and Alan Wheat.[18] Herman's Senate confirmation was delayed twice. The first resulted from questions regarding her role in organizing White House coffees Clinton used as fundraisers. The second was because Senate Republicans refused to allow a vote on her nomination, as part of their opposition to a proposed executive order related to federal construction projects, which Clinton eventually abandoned.[21][22] With the delays over, the Senate Labor Committee held its hearing on her nomination on March 18, 1997.[23][24] Then on April 30, 1997, the Senate voted to confirm by a vote of 85–13.[25] Herman was sworn in on May 9, 1997.[26] She became the first African-American, and the fifth woman, to serve in the position.[26][27]

As Secretary of Labor, Herman oversaw the Department of Labor, which at the time employed 17,000 people and operated on a $39 billion annual budget.[28] The Department of Labor is tasked with enforcing a variety of workplace laws and regulations, including safety issues and anti-discrimination.[29] During Herman's tenure, American unemployment was at its lowest level in decades.[29]

Herman's official U.S. Department of Labor portrait

She earned praise from her peers for her handling of the 1997 United Parcel Service (UPS) workers strike, the largest strike in the United States in two decades.[26][20][29] After the strike began in August, Herman met privately with the Teamsters' president and the UPS chairman to frame the issues. She was an instrumental mediator in the talks, and the strike was settled after 15 days.[20] Herman's role in resolving the strike raised her public profile as she began to pursue her agenda as Secretary.[13]

As secretary, Herman supported the 1996 and 1997 raises to the minimum wage, increasing it by $0.90 to $5.15 per hour by September 1997.[30][31] Herman argued the wage hike increased the buying power of workers.[31] She later opposed a 1999 Republican supported plan to raise the minimum wage over three years, instead supporting a two-year time-table for an increase.[32] Herman also opposed the legislation as it included tax cuts without offsets.[33][32]

Among Herman's responsibilities as secretary was the enforcement of child labor laws.[29] During her tenure, the Department of Labor fined toy store chain Toys "R" Us $200,000 for violating laws restricting the type of work that may be done, and the number of hours that may be worked by underage employees.[34] It found more than 300 teenage employees were working more and later hours than permitted, and Toys "R" Us agreed to stop the practices.[34]

Herman supported the United States' participation in the International Labor Organization's Child Labor Convention, a treaty designed to protect children under 18 years old from slavery, trafficking, bondage, and other abuses.[35] She also defended the United States' support of a provision to allow for voluntary military service of those under 18 years old, a practice allowed in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands.[36] Opponents, including other nations, trade unions, and Amnesty International urged tougher provisions; however, Herman contended the focus of the treaty should be on forced labor, not voluntary military service.[37]

Attorney General Janet Reno appointed Independent Council Ralph I. Lancaster Jr., in May 1998, to investigate Herman after businessman Laurent J. Yene alleged she accepted kickbacks while working at the White House.[36][38][39] Reno was skeptical of Yene's allegations following a preliminary FBI investigation, but she believed the Independent Council law obligated her to appoint independent council where she could not affirm the claims were without merit.[39] Following a twenty-three month investigation, Independent Council Lancaster concluded that Herman had broken no laws and cleared her of all wrongdoing.[40][36] She was the fifth Clinton cabinet officer to be investigated by independent counsel, and the fourth cleared of all wrongdoing.[36][39] The Independent Council investigations of the cabinet members cost $95 million and did not uncover any felonies, leading Congress to allow the Independent Counsel Act to expire in June 1999 without re-authorization.[39]

Herman was active in Al Gore's 2000 campaign for president.[41] During the Florida election recount, Herman was part of the team planning a transition to a Gore Administration. ABC News and The New York Times considered her a likely candidate to remain in Gore's White House if he won.[42][41] Elaine Chao replaced her as Secretary of Labor in the George W. Bush administration.[29]

Thomas Perez and Alexis Herman participate in a round table discussion of the U.S. Department of Labor's 2012 findings on forced labor and human trafficking, September 30, 2013

Herman served as co-chair of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's transition team during the 2004 presidential election.[43] In 2005, Howard Dean, serving as Democratic National Committee Chairman, appointed Herman and lawyer James Roosevelt, Jr. co-chairs of its Rules and Bylaws Committee.[44][45][46][47] The position put Herman and Roosevelt at the center of a dispute between the campaigns of democratic primary candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton over whether to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.[44] Herman endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic Party Presidential primaries and served as Deputy Parliamentarian at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.[48][49]

From 2001 to 2006, Herman was chairwoman of The Coca-Cola Company's Human Resources Task Force. The following year, Coca-Cola made her a director. Herman served on Toyota's Diversity Advisory Board.[12] In 2006, the company appointed her to head a special task force to ensure the company's compliance with anti-discrimination standards following the resignation of Toyota North America's CEO, after being named the defendant in a sexual harassment lawsuit.[50] Herman served on the boards of other major companies, including Cummins, MGM Resorts International, Entergy, Sodexo, and is the chairman and CEO of New Ventures, Inc.[51]

In 2010, Herman was appointed to the board of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, a charitable organization founded by Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to aid Haiti following a magnitude 7.0 M_w earthquake in January of that year.[52] Herman has also been involved with civic groups including the National Urban League and the National Epilepsy Foundation.[53] She has been awarded more than 20 honorary doctorate degrees from academic institutions.[54]