ICYMI: Acting Secretary Su reflects on Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month’s importance

WASHINGTON – Throughout the month of May, the nation celebrated the contributions of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. Acting Secretary Su observed the month by sharing her perspective as well as highlighting the work of the Department of Labor. 

Acting Secretary Su spoke to the media about the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2023 effort to release  the monthly unemployment rate and other key statistics for Asian subgroups: Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other Asian. This type of real-time disaggregated information allows policymakers and community stakeholders to identify who needs assistance, particularly during hard economic times, and where to focus resources. 

In media interviews in May, Acting Secretary Su also addressed the importance of language access, including the department’s recent translation of Worker.gov into more languages, including Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic and Korean, and making MigrantWorker.gov available in Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

On May 20, 2024, Acting Secretary Su appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to speak to the significance of AANHPI Heritage Month, saying “this is a month to celebrate the beautiful diversity of all of us who call ourselves Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. And for President Biden, who believes not just in theory, but in this idea of a country –  out of many one –  the celebration of diversity is something that's very core to who he is.” Click here to watch the full interview. 

On May 24, 2024, Acting Secretary appeared on ABC New’s Nightline with Juju Chang alongside fellow AANHPI cabinet members U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai and Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar. They spoke about President Biden’s commitment to diversity and AA NHPI communities nationwide. 

When asked by Chang about how her experience as the child of immigrants impacts her work at the Department of Labor, Acting Secretary Su said: “I grew up translating for my parents the way so many immigrant children do, and that experience had a really profound effect on my sense of belonging, the importance of language. And so, I went to law school to become a translator. The language of law for people who were marginalized, discriminated against and exploited.” Click here to watch the interview. 

Read additional coverage here: 

Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su wants American dream for all

By Matthew Yoshimoto | May 14, 2024 

“As a child of Chinese immigrants, Su shared her excitement to continue working on workers’ rights and civil rights particularly in disenfranchised communities. Su noted ongoing efforts by the Department of Labor to make information more accessible by expanding the number of AANHPI language translations. 

‘Growing up and translating taught me a lot about the power of language, and as I grew up, I realized the law is really a language and you get to decide who gets what our society gets to work and who doesn’t, who gets paid and who doesn’t, who gets to migrate and march and marry and vote and partake in America,’ Su said during the conversation. ‘Language access is so important’.”

Disaggregated Data is America’s Super Power: It’s Crucial to be Counted

By Sunita Sohrabji | May 23, 2024 

“Standards for federal data collection have not changed since 1997. But in a monumental move, the Office of Management and Budget March 28 announced new standards for data collection, to be implemented by the Census Bureau and other federal agencies. Most significantly, changes in reclassification allows Middle Easterners and North Africans to be identified as a racial category, a move the MENA community has fought for for several years.” 

U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su Reflects on Family’s Immigration, Value of Unions

By Tracy Huang | May 24, 2024 

“In an interview with news company NRG, she said, ‘I believe in the transformative power of America, and I know the transformative power of a good job. To all workers who are toiling in the shadows, to workers who are organizing for power and respect in the workplace, know that we see you.’”