--- title: Acting Sec. Su kicks off AWF coverage of National Apprenticeship Week description: The America’s Work Force Union Podcast is the nation’s premier daily labor program. Acting Sec. Julie Su from the US DOL joined us on today’s show. image: https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/USDOL%20Blue%20(1).png --- 1 min read Season 5, Episode 229 # Acting Sec. Su kicks off AWF coverage of National Apprenticeship Week [ awfblog ](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/author/awfblog) November 18, 2024 [Labor Issues](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/labor-issues) [America's Work Force Union Podcast](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/americas-work-force-union-podcast) [Jobs](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/jobs) [AWF](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/awf) [US DOL](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/us-dol) ![Seal_of_the_United_States_Department_of_Labor.svg](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Seal_of_the_United_States_Department_of_Labor.svg.png?width=1200&height=1200&name=Seal_of_the_United_States_Department_of_Labor.svg.png)   Guest Name: --- Julie Su Guest Website: --- [U.S. Department of Labor](https://www.dol.gov/)  Guest Social Media: --- [ Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/departmentoflabor) [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/USDOL) [ YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/user/USDepartmentofLabor) [ LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/u-s-department-of-labor/) Supportive Documents: --- The America’s Work Force Union Podcast kicked off our coverage of National Apprenticeship Week by featuring the Acting U.S. Department of Labor Secretary [Julie Su](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/osec), who joined the show to discuss the importance of creating pathways to union jobs through Registered Apprenticeship Programs. Su also explained the difference between being the Labor Secretary Acting Secretary and what she could accomplish in her current role. As a first-generation American, Su saw how difficult it was for her parents to make ends meet before her mother got a union job with the City of Los Angeles. She talked about growing up with immigrant parents and how her childhood shaped her future. Su attributes her parent's journey to why she has made a career fighting for the working class. Initially confirmed as [Deputy Secretary of Labor](https://www.dol.gov/) under then DOL Secretary Marty Walsh in 2021, Su was appointed Acting Labor Secretary when Walsh stepped down in 2023. While she was not confirmed as Labor Secretary, Su said she could operate the department fully because of her initial role as Deputy Secretary. She then talked about assisting with a few notable strikes as head of the DOL. This week is National Apprenticeship Week, a week dedicated to highlighting apprentices and apprenticeship programs around the country. Su discussed the importance of creating pathways for everyone to become a part of the middle class and said apprenticeship programs are one of the best opportunities to do that. She proudly shared that over 1 million workers have participated in Registered Apprenticeship Programs over the four years under the Biden Administration. For more from Su and our coverage of National Apprenticeship Week, listen to the show above. --- America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues. America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers. - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ##### SUBSCRIBE ON: --- [![Group 342](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png?width=171&name=Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/id1511224946) [![Group 341](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Spotify%20Button-Dark.png?width=100&name=Spotify%20Button-Dark.png)](https://open.spotify.com/show/0GzkHxFSBxiXvuX0lZpQBn) [![Group 343](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20343.png?width=135&name=Group%20343.png)](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast-62567752/) [![Group 339](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20339.png?width=110&name=Group%20339.png)](https://www.pandora.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/PC:47979) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20397.png?width=125&name=Group%20397.png)](https://americasworkforceradiopodcast.podbean.com/) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/YouTube_button.png?width=125&name=YouTube_button.png)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuQo1PAtRAel1_tS7-PQOkA)   #### [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/brotherhood-of-railroad-signalmen-on-the-union-pacific-merger-threat) : July 6, 2026 # Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat Brandon Elvey, Secretary-Treasurer of the [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen](https://www.brs.org/),... 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