According to the US media, the President-elect Barack Obama is expected to nominate California Representative Hilda Solis as his Secretary of Labor. The selection of Solis is in tune with the growing trend among Obama's appointees - she too has been active on green initiatives.

The 51-year-old daughter of Mexican and Nicaraguan immigrants, Solis, sponsored the Green Jobs Act of 2007, which authorized $125 million to train workers for environmentally minded jobs, like installation solar panels and construction of energy efficient buildings.

In 1994, Solis became the first Latina elected to the California Senate, where she led the battle to increase the minimum wage of the state from $4.25 an hour to $5.75 an hour in 1996.

Solis would replace Elaine Chao, who said her successor "will inherit a strong legacy on behalf of America's workers, which includes record low fatality, illness and injury rates, record achievements in enforcement recoveries, and strengthened protections for union members."

With unions having contributed heavily to Obama and Democrats this year, it is expected that Solis would be an advocate for them and for workers. They expect her to press for legislation that would force businesses to recognize union representation if more than 50 percent of a company's eligible work force signs union cards, instead of waiting for secret-ballot elections.

John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO, the country's largest labor organization, said: "We're confident that Solis will return to the Labor Department one of its core missions - to defend workers' basic rights in our nation's workplaces."