Marty Walsh, who is the president of the National Hockey League Association and spent two years in President Biden’s administration as labor secretary, appeared at the Institute of Politics John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum to appropriate entry music: “I’m Shipping up to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys.
Walsh spent seven years as mayor of the city he is proud to call home. “I know Dropkick Murphys pretty well,” said Walsh. “When I was running for mayor, they changed the words from “shipping up to Boston’ to ‘Marty Walsh for Boston.’ So this is very cool.”
Walsh was back in Boston to discuss leadership and the workforce with Anthony Foxx, the director of the Center for Public Leadership and the Emma Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership. Both Foxx and Walsh started their political careers as mayors; Foxx was the youngest mayor elected in Charlotte, N.C. “We’re in a small club of people who went directly from mayor to cabinet secretary,” said Foxx.
But it was clear from Walsh’s upbringing that politics, especially union representation, was in his future. The son of Irish immigrants—both his parents came to Boston in the late 1950s—Walsh grew up in a labor house, and a Democratic house. “We’re sitting here in the Kennedy School,” said Walsh, “My mother talks about the day Kennedy was elected president all the time.”
He always felt he would run for office one day. He credits the day in 1995 when he got sober as a turning point. Walsh has always been open about his alcoholism and his sobriety. “Once I got sober, things were clearer for me.” He served 16 years as a representative in the Boston State House, deeply aligned with labor and unions.
“Which was the better job, mayor or secretary?” asked Foxx. Walsh exercised his diplomatic skills saying it was an honor to serve Boston, “the best city in the world.” He also acknowledged the honor of being Biden’s labor secretary. “I love President Biden; it was wonderful working with him.”
But being a mayor, he said, you can actually make a difference. “It’s not about fancy things,” Walsh said. “It’s about everyday things. It’s about getting someone into a shelter, it’s about making sure the streets are clean, that there are programs for youth.”
“Having workers better trained is better for the overall economy.”
As labor secretary, Walsh found a role that amplified his desire to help workers. “The Labor Department protects the workers of America, wherever they might be. During the Biden presidency, the favorability for organized labor was 70%, the first time it was that high since the 1950s.”
While he is still passionate about organized labor, Walsh also sees the challenges. “The movement is different than it was 40 years ago. I think we have to revisit the way we communicate with our workers and let people understand that around elections, 40% of union membership is going to vote red,” he said.
“There needs to be education around the consequences. Voting means you are asking the candidate to represent you. That means they should have a basic understanding of what you believe in. If you make a change in Washington or the governor’s office, those people impact benches and labor boards and that is going to impact your career.”
Education is something Walsh is also passionate about, and not just around political issues. “Having workers better trained is better for the overall economy.” This involves investing in labor retraining, he said, as automation and AI change the workplace.
Investing in the nation’s infrastructure is also a challenge, said Walsh. “President Biden signed the largest infrastructure bill in the history of the United States, $1.4 trillion dollars,” he said. “China does this every year. We are simply not investing in our infrastructure the way we should.”
As for his current job, Walsh relishes the opportunity to represent professional ice hockey players, and the reprieve sports provides from politics. “A sporting event gives us two hours of being disconnected from the troubles of the world,” he said.
While he won’t take credit for the recent Olympic gold medals won by the U.S. men’s and women’s hockey teams, he did work hard on the player agreements to get the U.S. teams back to the Olympics in 2026.
And he just completed negotiations for 2030 for the World Cup of Hockey. “If you are a hockey fan, every two years you’re going to have the best of the best in a hockey competition.”
The Forum can be viewed on the IOP YouTube page. It was co-sponsored by the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School.
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Photographs by Martha Stewart