Labor leaders are pushing Rep. Andy Levin as Biden's Labor Secretary

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has some competition in his reported quest to become President-elect Joe Biden's Labor Secretary.

In a Friday letter to Biden's transition team, the UAW — the major union of automobile and mechanical workers — strongly recommended the incoming administration pick Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) to head the Department of Labor. "It is essential to bring into your cabinet someone from the labor movement with impeccable credentials," UAW President Rory Gamble wrote, and to him, "Andy Levin is precisely this person."

Before he represented the area north of Detroit, Levin worked under former President Bill Clinton's Labor Department, and is "the only sitting representative or senator who has run a state workforce system," Gamble noted. He has since been the vice chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, pushing to raise the minimum wage and "restore worker's freedom to organize unions," Gamble continued. And while "there are many fine economists and state and federal officials" who could do the job, "the labor movement has not seen one of its own serve as Secretary of Labor in modern times," and Levin would be "a transformative leader... when we need it most."

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Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton also endorsed Levin earlier this week, and progressive groups Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats don't disagree. They unveiled their recommendations for Biden's cabinet earlier this week, and while Sanders is their No. 1 choice, Levin and Service Employees International Union President Mary Kay Henry are among their top three.