As well he should: Democratic Senator John Kerry said he'd appoint a union member to be secretary of labor if he defeats President George W. Bush in the November election. ``You deserve the ability to get ahead in return for hard work,'' Kerry told a conference of 2,000 building trade union members in Washington by satellite from Boston, his hometown. ``You deserve a secretary of labor from the house of labor, and most importantly you deserve a president who puts jobs first.'' The last U.S. president to choose a labor secretary from a union was Republican Richard Nixon, who in 1973 appointed Peter J. Brennan, a New York state building and construction trades labor leader, to the position. Assuming Ronald Reagan isn't the union member in question, this is very good news.