How Marty Walsh Saved David Weil From Building Trades Opposition

The prospect of David Weil returning as the U.S. Labor Department’s top wage regulator didn’t thrill some leaders of the politically moderate building trades unions, who thought he was lackluster in overseeing construction prevailing wage standards during the Obama administration.

But then Labor Secretary Marty Walsh got involved.

Walsh, whose political rise began in the building trades, convinced Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions, to shelve criticism of Weil, according to three sources briefed on a call Walsh held with the union leader shortly after he became labor secretary in late March.

The outcome of that call ...