President-Elect Obama’s selection for the top post at the Labor Dept., Rep. Hilda Solis, a U.S. congresswoman from California, is a cause for celebration by unions.

In making the announcement Dec. 19, Obama said the California Democrat, a renewable energy advocate who was critical in the passage of a green jobs training bill in Congress, would play a key role in developing policies to fulfill his stated goal of creating some 2.5 million jobs.