Las Vegas, NV
January 3, 2024
Hi, everybody! And happy New Year! Feliz año nuevo!
Everyone knows that the place to ring in the New Year is Vegas. And the reason for that is because of all of you. So we are here today to say thank you for all that you do and also to celebrate the historic wins you had last year.
So let me ask you: how does it feel to have won the biggest contract ever?
[Applause]
How does it feel to have made history?
[Applause]
And how does it feel to be part of this remarkable era of worker power in America?
[Applause]
Yeah, '23 was a big year of worker wins at the bargaining table – from record-level wage gains to more retirement security, to stronger worker health and safety protections, to workers demanding and getting a voice in determining the future of their industries, from healthcare to Hollywood, from delivery drivers to dockworkers, from teachers to autoworkers, and yes, to casino and culinary workers!
You all made history. And you did that. You are a part of something much bigger – a moment of reimagining what is possible.
For far too long, we've heard that when workers make demands for better pay, it's bad for business and bad for the country. We've heard that workers who don't make enough to live on just need to keep on working harder.
Well the Biden-Harris administration is changing that narrative.
[Applause]
So I was in the room for many of the big negotiations that happened last year. And I heard corporations say that the wage increase you want is too far above the market rate. Above the market rate. My response to that is – why, instead of telling workers that their demands are too high, maybe it's time we question, why don't we start to question why the market rate so low?
[Applause]
Why should we accept as normal the fact that working people have to work full-time year-round – sometimes multiple jobs – and still not be able to afford to live near where they work?
What you are doing is helping to re-set and lift up the market rate.
[Applause]
That's right. Give yourselves a hand for that.
And we have a President and a Vice President who are not just watching this happen but using every lever to promote and support it.
They know that "union" is not a bad word. It is what makes America strong.
And they know that unions also help to close race and gender pay gaps.
[Applause]
Your contract means more economic security for women and people of color – reminding us that if we strive for worker justice, we can also achieve racial and gender justice.
[Applause]
So workers had a big year in 2023.
And now it's 2024.
And we're going to keep on reimagining what is possible for workers.
The Biden-Harris administration is going to keep on saying loud and clear that unions make America strong and when workers do well, America does better.
So I am very proud to be your Acting Labor Secretary in the most pro-worker, pro-union administration in history.
And 2024 is going to be our best year yet.