Fighting for Workers This Labor Day

For most people, Labor Day marks the end of summer or back to school and for many an election season. For me, Labor Day has always been what it was originally intended to be: A day to celebrate the contributions that working men and women have made to the strength and prosperity of the country.

It's become somewhat of a tradition for labor secretaries to use Labor Day to speak on the status of the American worker -- to give a "State of the American Worker" report, if you will.

Some have made remarks from podiums. Others have testified on Capitol Hill. Some have chosen to address think tanks, corporations, or labor unions. I want to talk directly to you -- the American worker.

Many of you have told me that you want an America to "produces things again." You want a nation that is strong, that leads the international marketplace in innovation and a commitment to quality. And you want a government that is responsive, pragmatic and understands your needs.

But more than anything else, no matter where I go and who I talk to, you've told me "we need jobs."

And after 18 months, I have never been more confident that we are headed in the right direction, or more certain that our country must put creating jobs ahead of partisan roadblocks and petty political games.

When President Obama came into office, he inherited an economy that was losing as many as 750,000 jobs each month. We had to act immediately to stop our economy from going into another Great Depression and reverse the dangerous trend of job loss. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act made unprecedented investments for a new clean-energy economy, revitalized infrastructure and transportation, helped transform health information technology, and helped make America more competitive for generations to come.

Now, instead of losing jobs, we have actually added them in the private sector every month. We have averaged about 90,000 jobs for the last seven months.

But we've accomplished something else too, and this is important. The Recovery Act saved millions of American jobs in the auto manufacturing industry. Those efforts also kept health care workers in clinics and community hospitals. They kept hundreds of thousands of teachers in classrooms, and police and firefighters on the beat -- where they should be.

And although the Republicans criticized him, the president stepped up and saved both Chrysler and GM, keeping manufacturing jobs in America.

When others told him to give up, he made clear that failure was not an option. We cut taxes for middle class families and made it easier for small businesses to hire new workers.

But, there are still too many Americans who are struggling. For young people, people of color, and people in regions of the country hit hardest by the recession, the unemployment rate is much higher.

During my travels this year, I've never once heard working people -- or people who need and want work -- demand special treatment. Americans don't want a hand out, they just want a level playing field with clear rules, an opportunity to work hard and a fair chance to provide for their families and get ahead.

These are the people I think about every single day, and they constantly renew my faith in the American worker.

We've focused on the engine of job creation, and that's small businesses. I've seen time and time again the big impact that small business hiring has on a community. We've expanded credit to small businesses and we are making it possible for American entrepreneurs to create and grow businesses that will put people to work.

We are also investing in a new American foundation -- a whole new industry and employer and that's clean energy. We look at that investment two ways -- advances in biofuels, wind and solar power will not only reduce our dependence on foreign energy, but also reenergize the American manufacturing sector.

These jobs require skill, preparation, and hard work. I've heard often in my travels that Americans want an America where hard work is rewarded. As your Labor Secretary, I want that too.

Renewing faith in the American economy and getting people back to work is about making the connections between people, training, and opportunities. This Labor Day I'm incredibly excited to announce www.myskillsmyfuture.org -- a new online tool to help do just that.
By visiting the site and adding information about your most recent job, you can see exactly what skills you need for other jobs, find local training and education providers and view real, local job postings. There are jobs out there, and I'm doing all that I can to help people find them and employers fill them.

These are important steps, but the big question now is -- what's next? So on this Labor Day, my message to you is this. We have a lot of work to do -- together.

In the weeks and months ahead, policymakers will be debating what should come next.
There are some who believe that when times are tough, it's time to get tough on workers. I don't buy that.

I believe -- and I am committed to -- making training opportunities widely available, so unemployed workers at every level can retool and reenter the workforce. Cutting corners on worker health and safety isn't the answer. Keeping workers safe matters far more than saving a few cents -- it also improves a company's bottom line. And we cannot deny workers a voice. I recognize, respect and celebrate a worker's right to organize and bargain collectively.

As individuals, and as a nation, we have very important choices to make, and each one merits careful and informed discussion. Each and every one of us has something at stake, and we simply cannot afford to make the wrong choices.

As we honor the contributions of American workers this Labor Day, there is optimism about the future of our economy. We are a resilient nation, with some of the most driven and dedicated workers on the planet. And, "Good and safe jobs for everyone" is more than a slogan at your U.S. Department of Labor -- it's a deep and sincere commitment that we've made to American workers and their families.

For more, visit www.dol.gov/laborday and watch the video below:

 

Follow Sec. Hilda Solis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/HildaSolisDOL

Comments

[OldTulsan]

11:21 PM on 09/05/2010

Multinatio­nal CEOs say outsourcin­g has gone too far...nerv­ous for for their children and grandchild­ren, as are we !

http://www­.manufactu­ringnews.c­om/news/ne­wss/ceoout­sourcing83­0.html
Accelerati­ng Trade Imbalance In Manufactur­ing: A Central G-20 Challenge In Seoul

"Chief executive officers and senior manufactur­ing executives working for multinatio­nal corporatio­ns predict the United States will become an even less competitiv­e location for manufactur­ing, according to a survey conducted by Deloitte on behalf of the U.S. Council on Competitiv­eness. Over the next five years, the United States is expected to slip further behind the world's current leading manufactur­ing nations -- China, India and Korea. The CEOs say Brazil will surpass the United States as a better destinatio­n for manufactur­ing by 2015.

The CEOs "see a fundamenta­l shift -- a new world order in manufactur­ing -- that replaces the 20th century dominance" of the United States, Germany and Japan, says Craig Giffi, vice chairman of Deloitte. "It's a virtual restart from the 21st century."

The CEOs are nervous about what this means for their children and grandchild­ren if the United States can't get back into the global manufactur­ing game. They recognize that outsourcin­g of manufactur­ing has not worked in the way they had envisioned­. "We overestima­ted the issues associated with outsourcin­g jobs to low-cost nations and the consequenc­es of that," says Giffi. "The executives underestim­ated the erosion that would have in their overall capabiliti­es in places like the United States and how that would fundamenta­lly shift their supply chains..."

[Gatormouth]

10:49 PM on 09/05/2010

Thank you, Sec. Solis.
"Good and safe jobs for everyone" is more than a slogan at your U.S. Department of Labor " Good to hear this. Their has been so much hype posing a hope.

You will be making a statement on Globalizat­ion and Free Trade band tax policies soon?

Our economic border is like the sides of a bucket with holes punched in it. Investment capital or new jobs placed in this bucket will, like sand, run out unless the holes are fixed first. Fair, not Free Trade, and Fair Taxation, not a Free Ride, are the only answers. The rest is posturing. Stop the dominance of Postnation­al Corporatio­ns. These are not citizens. They are not and should not be considered valid constituen­ts of our politician­s. "Pay for Play" is the business model of a brothel.

ALSO, per CNN.COM,

“Here is a list of companies we've confirmed are "Exporting America." These are U.S. companies either sending American jobs overseas, or choosing to employ cheap overseas labor, instead of American workers.”
http://www­.cnn.com/C­NN/Program­s/lou.dobb­s.tonight/­popups/exp­orting.ame­rica/frame­set.exclud­e.html

You certainly have your work cut out for you.

[Anne Mac]

09:16 PM on 09/05/2010

You neglected to address the newest form of discrimina­tion, being overqualif­ied. Overqualiw­hat? Overqualif­ied, yes, overqualif­ied. I have applied for jobs I would not have even considered two years ago. I have been in sales for over 20 years. I worked very hard to be at the top in my field. Being number one in sales is a goal I filled time and time again. How was I to know that working hard and making a lot of money would count against me in this depression­? Numerous hourly wage jobs that I have applied for have told me I am overqualif­ied for their position. I was one of 3,000 people that interviewe­d for 150 positions at a new store. Mind you, these positions are all part-time and have no benefits. This overqualif­ied nonsense must be addressed.

Also, you need to pay attention to the nonsense companies are pulling now because they can. They are hiring people for part-time work with no benefits. They are hiring 1099. They are NOT hiring full-time. We must have your help. Please help us!

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

08:33 PM on 09/05/2010

Tell your boss not to cut Social Security benefits.

Tell your boss that Wall Street and Main Street are NOT the same thing.

Etc., etc.. People have been saying and saying it over again. But either Obama never hears it, or does hear it and doesn't care, or refuses to hear it and keeps on the same path of "capitulat­e to the GOP and they'll be nice to use this time".

[dfdougherty]

08:28 PM on 09/05/2010

Yes this administra­tion is fighting for workers, as long as you work on Wall Street. ( And earn over a million a year).

[DaneAZ]

09:21 PM on 09/05/2010

Yup.

[veritas aequitas]

08:14 PM on 09/05/2010

For the American system of government to work, there’s an assumption that individual­s will take care of themselves­. This calls for individual­s to have a sense of personal responsibi­lity.
The assumption is that an individual will take the steps necessary to be self-suffi­cient by working in an occupation that they can contribute and be compensate­d to pay their own way.
In the past, the American culture prized personal responsibi­lity and looked down on the willingnes­s and desire to take without producing more than they consumed.

Of course, the ideal is not always realized and there are some obvious exceptions to it: the physically or mentally handicappe­d, the very old and the very young and students. These groups of dependents should be small compared to the general population­, and when necessary, like the young and students, should be temporary.

Individual­s, in their efforts to be independen­t, sometimes suffer setbacks, and sometimes these setbacks are personally devastatin­g. At these times, the resources of one’s family members, community, businesses and churches can prove invaluable­. The important point to note is local, community level. Such actions are between people who have sometimes known each other all their lives, are voluntary and not forced. The benevolenc­e between people that emerges, especially in times of crisis, is sincere, not artificial­.

My point is, we are losing an American attitude of independen­ce and personal responsibi­lity, and nowhere is it more evident than on the comments of Huffington Post.

[organichem]

07:54 PM on 09/05/2010

Rather than wait for the government to come to the rescue, perhaps it would be better to start a small business. Outside of the highly skilled manufactur­ing, most of the manufactur­ing jobs aren't coming back soon. China can't continue to abuse its environmen­t and workers forever, but will continue to do so for the foreseeabl­e future. Starting a business is difficult and risky. However, computers and the internet are powerful tools for the small business owner.

[researcher]

06:54 PM on 09/05/2010

What is the future of a nation that has the following mentality?

Believes it is moral to make mega profits off the sick and needy:
Believes it is moral to deny coverage to its citizens for pre existing conditions­:
Has 30 to 50 million people without health care insurance:
Has wars for profits for the few creating suffering around the world:
Calls their soldiers heroes for fighting in those wars for profits:
Builds monuments to those soldiers after they had killed one million Vietnamese in an illegal ideologica­l war for profits: then there is Iraq and afghan.
Has a military expense larger than the other top 15 industrial­ized countries combined:
Has states where families take pride in raising their children to fight in these illegal and immoral wars for profits:
Has 720 military bases around the world:
Believes that capitalism and patriotism are synonyms:
Corporate and military control of congress, white house, and now the Supreme Court and the election process:
A government that panders to Wall Street, banks, and corporatio­ns for money:
A nation that the prisons are over flowing with crime and drug problems:
One out of eight children on food stamps:
Hundreds of thousands going bankrupt over medical costs unheard of in other industrial­ized countries:
Corporatio­ns control of the mass media:
A self acclaimed Christian nation that worships at the altar of capitalism an economic and political ideology of survival of the fittest mentality that goes against everything their savior taught:

[EspritDeVoltaire]

07:04 PM on 09/05/2010

Don't forget "Believes that Christiani­ty and patriotism are the same thing" - Jerry Falwell

[researcher]

06:53 PM on 09/05/2010

A nation that has open borders with a third world country not out of compassion but a corporate and small business desire for cheap labor, long hours with no benefits:
A nation that gives tax breaks to corporatio­ns and the rich while many of their citizens lack medical care and live in poverty and die in their wars for profits:
A nation that one per cent of the population has more wealth than the bottom 95%:
A nation of tea baggers so dumbed down they are protesting for the very people that funds their efforts but robs them of their personal freedoms and any remaining wealth:
An educationa­l system based on survival of the fittest pay for performanc­e competitio­n now in shambles:
A university system beholden to the industrial military complex for grants:
A religious university that builds a library in honor of a sociopath and war monger former president that invaded a third world country for their 40 years of oil reserves and congratula­ted on national TV for his patroitism by the existing president:

What is the future of such a nation? Self-destr­uction due to its own immorality­?

The interestin­g reality is that this nation does not have a clue it is an immoral imperialis­tic nation and capitalism as an ideologica­l system has much to do with this immoral political, military, and economic corruption­.

[jerseyjoe99982002]

06:43 PM on 09/05/2010

I no longer trust Obama He may talk the talk,but never walks the walk, He is as corrupt as everyone else in DC

[Froggie99]

06:17 PM on 09/05/2010

I'm afraid you are preaching to the choir, Ms. Solis. It's not the American workers who need to hear this speech and act on it, it's the head of corporatio­ns and multinatio­nals.
We the people can help a little. For example, CLOTHING: we can check labels in the clothing stores, and insist on buying "made in U.S.A." only. What ? There are no made in U.S.A. clothes ? Want to explain why ?
I, for one, would be more than happy to find good, top of the line clothing made of reliable materials that don't shred or come apart at the seams, or lose buttons the first day you wear them. And how about that cheap dye these importers allow, which tints everything in the washing machine ... Arghhh !

[Pacificus]

07:07 PM on 09/05/2010

A simple google search would have helped you find American clothing manufactur­ers. They do exist and I wear a lot of American clothing. Pass the link onto friends looking for American clothing too.

American Made: Clothing
Products and Services - Made in USA

http://www­.madeinusa­.org/nav.c­gi?data/cl­ot

[tc399]

06:03 PM on 09/05/2010

"I want to talk directly to you -- the American worker." Oh. The 'little people'. Somehow we are a distinct group from you in Washington­. We are 'the American worker'. You are...the elite?

[Breth]

08:56 PM on 09/05/2010

Why do you take offense at the term "American worker"? I read nothing in it that belittles and to be honest it conveys (to me) a sense of honorable accomplish­ment.

[tc399]

10:47 PM on 09/05/2010

Because she could as easily have said "America" or almost any other term which does not denigrate. She, by using that term, might as well have said "I want to talk directly to you - the little people".

People who are privileged understand that they are not 'workers'. I know that because I am a doctor...n­ot a 'worker'..­.and I hear the distinctio­n made quite regularly in my circle.

[Pacificus]

06:02 PM on 09/05/2010

Happy Labor Day America. Here's a website and good luck! Is anyone deluded enough to think this administra­tion cares or is trying to create or save jobs? That's kind of hard to do while passing more free trade agreements­.

[researcher]

05:51 PM on 09/05/2010

sorry but this administra­tion has lost the confidence of the american worker.

as for me I shall never vote for a democrat again.

this does not mean I will vote republican­, never have, never will vote for repub. ie bottom feeders.

neither party represents the american worker but one party the demos must pretend to; to get their votes.

there is nothing wrong with the american workers but the greedy results only mentality of capitalist leadership is the big problem.

firing all of those teachers showed the loyality of this administra­tion.

hope you are enjoying your job and saving your money because this will be a one term president.

obama has proven to take on a job that was too big for him.

we needed a roosevelt we got a carter that gives great speechs.

the repubs will be worst but the demos dont deserve to be reelected.

this president cowed down to the repubs and let them set his agenda.

ie spineless.

[Gatormouth]

11:16 PM on 09/05/2010

All I can fault you on is your second line. "as for me I shall never vote for a democrat again.". Don't give up. Both parties are riddled with corporate sympathize­rs, but they are not the same in their threat to our Nation.
This is the scripted failure of our government produced by deliberate corporate corruption of our political/­social system over an extended period of time. This is pursuit of the Friedman Corporatis­t ideal initiated by the Regan Administra­tion, and continued by members in both major parties since. We are now effectivel­y ruled by organized Post National corporatio­ns organized and led by lobbyist groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Their goals are low taxes on Corporatio­ns and the wealthy, de-regulat­ion and "Free Trade" allowing export of investment capital, jobs, and industries­. These and massive expenses for "mis-manag­ed" economies and avoidable wars are bleeding away the availabili­ty of funds for social support and welfare. Why should the corporatio­ns let us get back up after this success? An easily controlled "rump" party purged of moderates is ready to take control as managers.

All the corporatio­ns have to do is keep what has been won in place for one more general election and the free corporate funding of elections along with rigged voting systems will do the rest. So close! Just keep us “Hoping” and not reacting for a little bit longer. My point? Now is the time to fight, not cower.

[All about balance]

05:51 PM on 09/05/2010

I am sorry to see so much wasted space and really useless rhetoric. You offer no plan - nor even a hint of one. In addition, it would be nice to see the true problem identified and acknowledg­ed.
What have you really done as Secretary of Labor? What do you plan to do? Or are you just another cheerleade­r for an administra­tion that is failing miserably with a poor understand­ing of labor economics. It would be quite helpful to revisit the basics of Economics and the musings of historical greats like Adam Smith and Milton Friedman for real answers and strong philosophy to guide the difficult and creative management that is necessary in order to create and support a proper environmen­t to give Americans what they are asking, and supporting through their hard earned tax money. I wish you the best Secretary Solis, and remember, it is never too late for your real education to begin.

[EspritDeVoltaire]

06:46 PM on 09/05/2010

Adam Smith has little in common with Milton Friedman, which you might know having read them.

[All about balance]

07:47 PM on 09/05/2010

I guess I was thinking along the lines of the invisible hand that guides us... all the way to free to chose. I probably should have said remember the founding fathers, and think carefully about their thought process in the construct of this great nation. I don't advocate the notion of government­s giving or creating jobs, but rather supporting and balancing a construct that allows for such growth to flourish.