The Associated Press is reporting that President Obama will appoint Mary Beth Maxwell, a prominent union lobbyist, as senior adviser to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. Maxwell served as the executive director for the pro-union group,  American Rights At Work.

As the AP framed it: “Mary Beth Maxwell’s appointment is seen as another sign of the influence that organized labor wields in the Obama administration.”

The unions’ ability to influence policy should not come as a surprise, especially after the Labor Department’s move this week to weaken union oversight.