Former Sen. Greg Reed named Alabama's first Secretary of Workforce

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) -- Former Alabama Sen. Greg Reed will now take on a new role as the state's first Secretary of Workforce.

Reed, the former president pro tempore of the Alabama Senate who had served in office from 2010 to 2025, had previously been serving as a senior advisor to workforce transformation under Gov. Kay Ivey. The announcement, which was made Friday, comes as the Alabama Department of Labor officially becomes the Department of Workforce.

“Increasing Alabama’s labor force participation rate is the current focus of our workforce development efforts. We are attracting significant business investments and new jobs, and we are helping our existing companies grow, and it is imperative we prepare our workforce,” Ivey said in a written statement. “I am grateful for the good work Marty has done to begin this new chapter of workforce development in Alabama. I am excited for Greg to now take the helm and get to work.”

As part of the transition, Secretary of Labor Marty Redden will retire after only a few months in the job as a transitionary leader of the program.

Last year, Ivey signed the Alabama Workforce Transformation Act in an effort to streamline the state’s workforce development efforts. The transition will be completed this summer.

“I am immensely honored to be the first Secretary of Workforce for the state of Alabama, and I am incredibly thankful to Governor Ivey that she has entrusted me to carry out her vision to tackle this all important task," Reed said in a statement. "Today is the first step in our mandate to make Alabama’s economy all that she can be, and workforce will be at the forefront of that mission. It is my commitment that this new agency will do all that it can to ensure Alabama workers are the best trained and most highly skilled in America. It will be my focus to champion Governor Ivey’s goals by collaborating with the business community, the education community, the manufacturing and industrial community, the Alabama Legislature and our federal delegation to coordinate our efforts and achieve best outcomes for the people of Alabama. I could not be more excited about this new and important initiative.”

Similar to its predecessor, the Alabama Department of Workforce will fulfill traditional department responsibilities, including workplace safety and child labor enforcement, unemployment and workers’ compensation, labor market information, as well as inspections.