Gov. Dannel Malloy had his reasons for naming Glenn Marshall the new commissioner of the Department of Labor and Dennis Murphy as deputy commissioner.
“What I want is a labor-friendly Labor Department and I want a management-friendly Labor Department,” Malloy said. “Those attributes are key.”
Marshall is president of Carpenters Union Local 210 and Murphy, a labor negotiator, was former chief administrative officer for the city of Bridgeport, who went on to become director of human resources in Stamford from 2004 until 2008.
Under Gov. M. Jodi Rell, Patricia Mayfield was labor commissioner from 2006 to Feb. 2010, when she retired. Linda Agnew, deputy commissioner, had served since as acting commissioner.
Malloy said by appointing the longtime labor leader to the commissioner position he hopes to inspire a sense of unification in the name of job growth and expansion.
Malloy”™s appointment will require confirmation in the General Assembly. Prior to his decision, it was widely speculated that Malloy would appoint a top executive of the Service Employees International Union, a major union supporter of Malloy”™s campaign, which spent $270,000 in independent funds to benefit his campaign.
The Carpenters Local 210 also endorsed Malloy in April in his run for governor.
“I had an opportunity here to appoint an individual with a tremendous labor union background and somebody who has good credentials on the management side as well,” Malloy said of the appointments. “Glenn has an extraordinary background within the labor movement,” he said during his conference in the Capitol.
Marshall is also the district business manager for New England Regional Council of Carpenters and the treasurer of its political action committee. Last year he testified before the General Assembly in favor of legislation increasing fines on employers who misclassified employees as subcontractors to avoid paying worker compensation and unemployment. The bill was passed and supported by Malloy. Malloy said he will amplify the effort of the Labor Department”™s enforcement to make sure employees are working within their classifications.
Last year, the Carpenters PAC contributed $10,000 to the campaigns of Chris Murphy and Rosa DeLauro, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Reps. Joe Courtney, and $8,000 to U.S. Rep. Jim Himes.
Malloy said with the decision to choose a construction labor representative, he hopes to stifle the source of an industry with major job losses in the state.
“In construction, we are always working ourselves out of jobs, creating new ones on a day-to-day basis is vital to our success at putting people to work,” Marshall said.
With his background, he hopes to be an effective force in working labor and business management toward the same goals. Marshall will receive a yearly salary of $130,000 and Murphy will receive $105,000.
During Malloy”™s tenure as Stamford mayor he worked closely with Murphy.
“I hope these appointments send positive signals about the future of state jobs,” said Malloy in his announcement. “I strongly reject the premise that you have to be either pro-labor or pro-business. Ours have to be both.”
