A Labor Day Message from Secretary Solis

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis

Brothers and sisters –
 
Today, I want to extend my warmest wishes to the Communications Workers of America. Thank you for your commitment, your talent, your hard work, and your service to this country. On behalf of everyone at the Department of Labor, I'm honored to wish all of you a great Labor Day.
 
Labor Day is the celebration of a promise fulfilled. For generations, the promise of good jobs, fair treatment and wages, and a seat at the bargaining table has sustained the economic security of America’s vital middle class.
 
Labor Day is also a call to action, a reminder that we must defend that promise to ensure that dignity and opportunity remain the birthright of all workers in this country.
 
We know what’s at stake, and we know what we have to do.
 
We must continue to get people back to work. We’ve come so far in the last 3 ½ years, but we've still got a long way to go. We were bleeding more than 800,000 jobs a month when President Obama took office. But over the last 29 months, we've created 4.5 million private sector jobs.
 
You’re supporting this recovery by fighting practices like outsourcing that devastate workers, families and communities and bringing American jobs home. President Obama and I are standing with you by calling for an end to tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and rewarding companies that bring jobs home. You’re also leading the way in preparing our workforce for the jobs that will fuel the engine of the 21st Century economy by investing in education and skills training that will help workers keep pace with the rapidly changing information industry.
 
With all you do for workers, it amazes me that some say we can't afford unions right now, that labor unions are the problem in this country. But I think they've got it just plain wrong. CWA helped build America's middle class. You are now — and always will be — part of the solution.
 
For me, this Labor Day has added meaning. My dad, who was a proud union member, passed away this year. When I was in ninth grade, he would come home and ask me to sit with him at our kitchen table. From his pockets, he pulled pieces of paper with writing in Spanish on them. They were scribbled messages from co-workers: safety grievances, questions about paychecks that didn't add up, and ideas about how to improve the productivity of the line.
 
He'd ask me to translate them into English. When I asked what they were, he explained: “They are the voice of the workers.” It was from him, as a young girl, that I learned about the critical need for workers to have a seat at the table.
 
Today, I honor his memory with a call for unity and strength – a commitment to keep building on our achievements to meet the urgent needs of working families.
 
One thing is certain: the promise of the great American worker will never be broken. Working together, there's no challenge we can't overcome.
 
Respectfully,
Hilda L. Solis