Marty Walsh
Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and trade union official who served as the mayor of Boston from 2014 to 2021 and as the 29th United States Secretary of Labor from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Walsh resigned from his position as the US Secretary of Labor in March 2023 in order to accept a position as executive director of the National Hockey League Players' Association. Before his mayoralty, he served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 13th Suffolk district from 1997 until 2014. As a trade union member, Walsh worked his way up to serve as the head of the Boston Building Trades Council from 2011 until 2013.
For persons of a similar name, see Martin Walsh (disambiguation).
Marty Walsh
Walsh was elected mayor of Boston in 2013 and was reelected in 2017. He was regarded as friendly towards real estate developers, and the city experienced a building boom during his mayoralty. He added policies to the city's zoning code that were inspired by the federal affirmatively furthering fair housing policy. He successfully negotiated for a 40-minute school day extension in Boston Public Schools. He also served on the leadership of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. During much of his mayoralty, Boston struggled with homelessness at Mass and Cass, a matter that was unresolved at the time Walsh departed from office. While he supported Boston's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, he ultimately reneged on his promise to sign the host city contract's financial guarantee, an action which contributed to the collapse of the bid. Walsh supported Boston retaining its status as a sanctuary city. In 2015, he supported the passage of a city ordinance to provide municipal employees with paid parental leave. The ordinance was passed and signed into law by Walsh. He supported an ordinance in the city council which regulated short-term rental of housing units, and signed it into law in 2018. In 2016, Boston and General Electric struck a deal for the corporation to move its headquarters to Boston. At the end of his tenure, he dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts on Boston.
Serving from March 2021 until March 2023 in the Cabinet of President Joe Biden as United States secretary of labor, Walsh was the first former union leader to serve in that position in roughly 45 years. Walsh, a recovering alcoholic who has been sober since 1995, was the first-ever Cabinet member to openly be in a twelve-step program for recovery from addiction. In February 2024, Walsh was nominated by Biden to serve as a governor of the United States Postal Service.
Early life, education, and career[edit]
Walsh was born on April 10, 1967, in Dorchester, Boston, to John Walsh, an Irish American originally from Callowfeenish, a townland near Carna, County Galway, and Mary (née O'Malley), from Rosmuc, Co. Galway.[2] Walsh's parents emigrated separately but married in the United States in 1959.[3] His parents both left from Shannon Airport, with his father leaving in 1956 and his mother leaving in 1959.[4]
Walsh grew up in the Savin Hill area of Dorchester,[5] where he lived in a triple-decker.[6] He was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma at the age of 7, forcing him to miss most of second and third grade and repeat fifth grade. At the age of 11, after going through years of chemotherapy, a scan revealed no traces of the cancer.[5] Walsh went to high school at The Newman School.[7] While a teenager, Walsh would begin drinking beer, ultimately becoming an alcoholic.[8] Walsh would later seek treatment after hitting what he considered "rock bottom" in 1995.[9]
Walsh initially dropped out of college[10] and entered the field of construction.[11] He later took night classes as an adult, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in social science from the Woods College of Advancing Studies at Boston College in 2009.[7][10]
In an early venture into politics, Walsh was a political volunteer for President of the Massachusetts Senate William Bulger. Walsh later volunteered for State Representative James T. Brett's campaign in the 1993 Boston mayoral election. Brett lost to Thomas Menino, who Walsh would numerous times come to be at odds with during his political career.[12]
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