Protections, pay raises vital for US workers
For more than 100 years, Americans have celebrated Labor Day with backyard barbecues, time with family and friends, parades and community gatherings.
But we must not forget what we are celebrating: the American labor movement.
The American labor movement is responsible for the minimum wage, overtime pay, the five-day workweek, paid time off, employer-based health care, pensions, workplace safety laws, child labor protections, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and so much more. Each win for the labor movement is a win for workers, their families and the American people.
Thankfully, we have an array of wins to celebrate this Labor Day weekend. Perhaps most notably, our economy is thriving.
According to estimates released last week, our economy added 187,000 new jobs in August, increasing the total number of jobs added under President Joe Biden to 13.5 million. In fact, more jobs had been added under Biden in 24 months than under any president during an entire four-year term. And the unemployment rate has remained below 4% for the longest continuous time in approximately 50 years.
However, while we celebrate a resilient economy, we also know that Labor Day is about recognizing the unfinished work that remains. Across the country, workers are continuing to call for the fair pay, benefits and workplace protections they have always deserved.
That is why, this Congress, I am committed to advancing legislation that raises workers’ wages, keeps them safe on the job and protects their right to form a union.
For example, I reintroduced the Raise the Wage Act of 2023 to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $17 by 2028. After more than a decade without an increase, there is now no place in America where a full-time worker making the federal minimum wage can afford to rent a modest, two-bedroom apartment. This legislation would provide workers with a long-overdue raise and encourage workers to spend their paychecks at local businesses.
As we grapple with record temperatures across the globe, I am also working to pass the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act, which would help protect indoor and outdoor workers against occupational exposure to excessive heat. Working in America should be a pathway to the middle class, not illness, injury or death. However, the health and safety of workers will remain at risk until we pass heat-stress legislation.
Unfortunately, we are also seeing a rise in child labor violations. Children nationwide are losing their lives and suffering devastating injuries because they work in hazardous jobs. In response, I helped lead the introduction of the Protecting Children Act to strengthen child labor laws and implement serious consequences for endangering children on the job.
This is the most robust proposal yet to
renew our commitment to ending oppressive child labor.
I am also continuing to fight for the rights of workers through the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), which would make the most significant upgrade to U.S. labor law in nearly 80 years. Specifically, the bill helps fulfill the promise of the National Labor Relations Act, which Congress passed to encourage workers to form and join labor unions, by removing barriers that prevent workers from joining together to negotiate for better salaries and working conditions.
Finally, I am committed to investing in on-the-job training and high-quality apprenticeship programs that help workers succeed in the modern economy.
That is why I led the bipartisan introduction
of the National Apprenticeship Act of 2023 to add nearly 1 million apprenticeship opportunities over five years. I also hope we can expand the allowable use of the Pell Grant to high-quality, short-term training programs to provide more Americans with a pathway to the middle class.
As we celebrate the labor movement this Labor Day, we cannot back down from our commitment to supporting workers and their families. Congress must continue to deliver policies that put America’s workers first. When workers succeed, we all succeed.