Hilda Solis
A daughter of immigrants who broke barriers to become the first Latina U.S. Secretary of Labor, championing worker rights from East L.A. to Washington.
Born 1957 (age 69)·American politician·Birthday: October 20·Baby Boomers
Biography
Hilda Solis carved a political path from the neighborhoods of Los Angeles County to the highest levels of federal power. The daughter of a Mexican immigrant union shop steward and a Nicaraguan assembly line worker, she absorbed the language of labor and justice at home. After serving in the California State Legislature, she took her fight to Congress, representing the working-class communities of the San Gabriel Valley. In 2009, President Barack Obama tapped her as Secretary of Labor, making her the first Latina to hold the position. Her tenure was defined by vigorous enforcement of wage and safety laws, a focus on green jobs, and expanding protections for vulnerable workers. Returning to Los Angeles, she brought that federal clout to the County Board of Supervisors, governing a district larger than many states with a continued focus on equity, environmental justice, and public health.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Hilda was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Hilda Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Hilda's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the 25th U.S. Secretary of Labor, the first Latina to hold the position, from 2009 to 2013.
- Represented California's 31st and 32nd congressional districts in the U.S. House of Representatives for eight years.
- Elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, later becoming its Chair, wielding significant local executive power.
- Successfully advocated for the creation of the Bureau of International Labor Affairs while in Congress.
Did You Know?
She was the first woman to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2000 for her work on environmental justice legislation.
Her father was a shop steward for the Teamsters union, and her mother worked on an assembly line at a Mattel factory.
She minored in radical sociology while attending California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
“I remember what it's like to be poor. I remember what it's like not to have health insurance.”
