Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis speaks about the changes that have been implemented at the Department of Labor at the Institute of Politics last Friday.

During a speech on Friday addressing the “dignity of working people,” U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis said that her department has launched a new initiative to improve the working conditions of manual laborers and to ensure the strict adherence to safety codes.

That effort, Solis said, grew out of a conversation with family members of the victims of an April mine collapse in Penn. Solis recalled speaking with a grandfather of a 25-year-old victim who had asked her after the release of the news, “Secretary, I’m waiting to hear if my grandson comes out alive.”

“The Department of Labor has really changed,” Solis said. “It’s a new department, it has a new life, we’ve resuscitated it, we’ve incorporated new funding, and we’re helping people get out of the ditch.”

Echoing the Barack Obama administration’s legislative efforts over the past two years, Solis sounded a note of optimism for the potential of legislation to improve the lives of ordinary individuals.

“Politics can be very helpful but also very abusive,” she said.

Solis also paid particular attention in her seminar to the poor economy’s effect on the future availability of jobs and paid internships for college students and recent graduates.

Referring to the lack of jobs open to newly graduated students, Solis stated that “times are very tough, especially for young people.”

Looking back on her own life, Solis addressed her struggle to overcome racial and gender barriers to become the first female Hispanic member of the cabinet.

“It’s inspiring to hear that it’s possible to be taken seriously as an assertive woman,” said Lili C. Behm ’12. “She speaks to how far we’ve come as a country, for a woman of color to hold such an authoritative position.”

With the din of a Global Fund AIDS rally echoing from outside the Institute of Politics, who hosted the speech, President Emeritus of the AFL-CIO John J. Sweeney introduced Solis as a “warrior who stands for working people.”

As Secretary of Labor since 2009, Solis has headed the Department of Labor and established initiatives related to the nation’s level of unemployment, working conditions and wages, and labor union relations during a time of unusual economic turmoil.

“Though the speech was inspiring, it shows how much work is left to be done for labor regulation and how much the administration has to catch up,” said Alexander H. Fernandez, a graduate student at the Kennedy School.

Before assuming her position at the Labor Department, Solis served as a Congresswoman representing a largely Latino district in East Los Angeles.

Reflecting on her roots in California politics, Solis bade her audience, “don’t forget where you come from, don’t forget the people who helped you get there, and give back.”