Latino civil rights group pushing Chavez-Thompson for labor secretary

San Antonio labor organizer Linda Chavez-Thompson is a candidate for secretary of labor for President-elect Barack Obama's administration, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

The League of United Latin American Citizens is reportedly backing Chavez-Thompson for the position. The nonpartisan civil rights organization is considered crucial to the Latino voting block and valued highly by politicians, with Obama, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) speaking at the group’s national convention in June.

Chavez-Thompson, currently a vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has labor experience from her time as executive vice president of the AFL-CIO.

Before her work with the AFL-CIO and the DNC, Chavez-Thompson was a Democratic delegate for both Michael Dukakis in 1988 and President Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. She was also a member of the advisory board to Clinton’s “One America Initiative” on race relations.