A SALUTE TO VETS AND AMERICAN WORKERS

Service members honor those who built our country.

Americans often celebrate the men and women of the United States military who courageously sacrifice for our freedom. On Labor Day, our service members, veterans and their families return the favor by honoring the American workers who built our great country.

Choosing military service comes out of a desire to defend our Constitution and protect the American dream, a dream which materializes in the fruits of labor. It is the American worker — our most important strategic asset — whom we must thank for our national standing, our prosperity and our bright future. Each year, approximately 250,000 young men and women are inspired to voluntarily join the military to protect what the American worker has delivered for generations. Our nation’s strong labor force continues to play a critical role sustaining our all-volunteer force by inspiring military service.

In peace, and in war, our military depends upon the American worker. In 1945, President Truman reflected “our thoughts go out to the millions of American workers and businessmen, to our farmers and miners — to all those who have built up this country’s fighting strength, and who have shipped to our Allies the means to resist and overcome the enemy.” Preparing for and fighting our nation’s battles has always required a team effort.

When our military men and women hang up their uniforms and return to civilian life, they often join the ranks of the American worker, and in so doing, they continue to serve their country. The agency which I am privileged to lead, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), focuses solely on enabling veterans to achieve their full potential in the workforce. We are proud of the fact that veterans have a higher labor force participation rate than non-veterans up to the age when people typically retire.

By the end of 2019, veteran unemployment had continued its years of steady decreases. In fact, the average monthly rate last year was 3.1%, the best since 2000, and five of those months achieved lower seasonally adjusted rates than any month from any other year on record. While unemployment has understandably increased due to COVID-19, the veteran unemployment rate today is lower than that of their non-veteran counterparts. Employers recognize the value of veterans, especially during these challenging times.

In the midst of the pandemic, veteran unemployment rates are no worse than they were during the depth of the Great Recession. The good news is we have a few things going for us that we didn’t have then. First of all, we’ve recently made the journey to record low veteran unemployment, and we know how to do it again. Secondly, thanks to administration priorities and congressional support, our agency is better resourced today than we were a decade ago. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we know that the majority of those who were recently furloughed will be able to return to their former jobs once it’s safe to reopen the country fully. This in no way is to suggest that the road to recovery will not be challenging, but it is to say that the American worker is up to the challenge. I salute you all.

Harry Truman, 1945

Six years ago the workers of the United States, and of the world, awoke to a Labor Day in a world at war. The democracies of Western Europe had just accepted the challenge of totalitarianism. We in the United States had two years of grace, but the issue was squarely joined at that hour, as we now know. There was to be no peace until tyranny had been outlawed.

Today we stand on the threshold of a new world. We must do our part in making this world what it should be

— a world in which the bigotries of race and class and creed shall not be permitted to warp the souls of men.

We enter upon an era of great problems, but to live is to face problems. Our men and women did not falter in the task of saving freedom. They will not falter now in the task of making freedom secure. And high in the ranks of these men and women, as a grateful world will always remember, are the workers of all free nations who produced the vast equipment with which victory was won.

The tasks ahead are great, and the opportunities are equally great. Your Government is determined to meet those tasks and fulfill those opportunities.

We recognize the importance and dignity of labor, and we recognize the right of every American citizen to a wage which will permit him and his dependents to maintain a decent standard of living. labor force if this nation is to retain its proud position of international leadership and further improve the quality of life for all of its people.

Let us also remember that the turbulence and uncertainties of our time have presented serious challenges to the working men and women of America. The problems that affect all — the search for world peace, the cost of living, the need to enhance our environment — often fall with particular impact on the working man and his family. It is an important fact of American life that they continue to show their faith in their country. They are grateful for what America has provided them in the past; they are loyal to what America stands for in the present; they are determined to help America achieve an ever brighter future.

The men and women who make up our labor force can be assured that the government of the United States will work closely with them in building that future. On behalf of that government, and on behalf of all Americans, I take this opportunity to salute and to thank the working men and women of this nation.

Bill Clinton, 1995

Each year at this time we pause to reflect on the value of labor and the accomplishments of the American worker. This country’s success depends on the efforts of its citizens to open the door to a better future. Work is the engine that drives our economy forward, moves struggling families upward into the middle class, and creates opportunities for our children. We must continually strive to create more opportunity for work for those who are willing to take the responsibility to make better lives for themselves and their families. Our labors ensure that the blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness will benefit generations to come.

Let us give thanks to those who came before us and who strived to improve working conditions and create fair labor laws. They risked their livelihoods and often their very lives to ensure that children could go to school instead of to work in mines and factories, that laborers could work without risking injury, and that Americans who toiled throughout the week would be rewarded with a decent living and could spend more time raising their families. These reformers brought dignity to the workplace and integrity to our society.

Today, we recognize that management and labor face common challenges and a shared destiny in the global economy. We must continue our efforts to create further job growth and new opportunities, enabling more of our citizens to realize the American Dream. As we celebrate Labor Day, we can find strength and renewed inspiration in the Dream — the idea that we can be good workers as well as good parents and that, through our individual efforts, we can build better lives for our children.

Best wishes to all for a memorable and meaningful holiday.

PEXELS

John Lowry