AFL-CIO Demands Herman Hearings

The AFL-CIO stepped into the debate over the troubled nomination of Alexis M. Herman as secretary of Labor, demanding the Senate hold hearings on the issue immediately. Her nomination by President Clinton has been mired in the controversy surrounding the Democratic National Committee’s fund-raising efforts and no Senate hearings have been set to consider her Cabinet position. John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, said: “It is unfair to working families to have the principal federal government department responsible for worker protection to be singled out and held hostage.”