Las Vegas, NV
July 17, 2024
Good afternoon, everybody.
Thank you so much for having me. Thank you so much, LaChandra, for hosting today. And to Chair Russell and President Johnson, we are indebted to your steadfast and bold leadership of the NAACP. It's wonderful to be here with all of you.
You've heard yesterday from my boss, President Biden.
And, I know that he appreciated the warm welcome, the energy, and the shared commitment because I see those and I know and you know that good jobs change lives. They give dignity, respect, security and as the president often says, they're about being able to look your children in the eye and say, "Everything's going to be okay." And mean it. But for too many people, for far too long, this promise of a good job has remained unfulfilled. No one should work full-time, year-round, and still live in poverty.
No one should go to work and wonder if they're going to come home healthy and safe at the end of the workday.
Yet, too many American workers still do. And those who do, a disproportionate number of them, are Black workers.
Some of the most fundamental labor protections in this country exclude certain workers — farmworkers, domestic workers — who were left out of the law because it's Black people who did that work.
And it's not a coincidence that the majority of states that have the lowest minimum wages are states in the south, where disproportionate numbers of Black workers live and work.
So, that's why, under President Biden's leadership, we are fighting for Black workers every day.
We have prioritized combating wage theft to put earned wages into workers' pockets. We have — as President Johnson put it — gotten overtime, strengthened overtime protections in this country. In fact, just this month, a million more workers became eligible for overtime because of the work that we did. And in January, about 3 million more will become eligible.
Because we have to be sure not to eliminate the 40-hour workweek. And, we have to get steady employment for justice-impacted individuals insisting that they also get a chance to get a good job in their community, and the support to succeed in that job.
And that's why we support worker organizing. I have spent my adult life fighting alongside workers, and I know that their ability to exercise their power and their voice is not just important in the workplace, it helps to strengthen our democracy. Because the same values that animate worker organizing are also important for democracy — that they want to be heard, have a say, working together for the collective good, and respect and dignity for all.
Now, I know that there are people in this room who've spent their lives fighting for workers rights, and I am honored to call them my friends.
We've heard from many of them already, but AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond...
AFSCME's Lee Sauders, who I would have to say, without whom I would not be standing here in this position right now...
CWA's President, Claude Cummings...
and the former UAW President and NAACP board member, Ray Curry.
And let me just recognize the Black women who are leading labor in this greatest moment.
My sisters and friends: SEIU President, April Verrette...
NEA's Becky Pringle...
UNITE HERE's Nia Winston...
And so many more.
The Black leadership of the labor movement in this moment is truly amazing. And it is not a coincidence that we are seeing the labor movement rise up at the same time. Because leadership matters.
And, it's no surprise that the labor movement is organizing, bargaining, and winning, as Secretary-Treasurer Redmond already said, like never before because we have so many Black labor leaders showing something that I have seen throughout my life. That diversity is excellence.
I just want to put to bed this nonsense about how when we focus on diversity and true representation that somehow that we end up with people who are not qualified or who are not deserving in positions. No.
The push for diversity and real representation means not that unqualified then get into positions, but that those who are wildly qualified, who would otherwise be overlooked, finally get their shot.
And when we get it, watch out, because we are going to make it count.
And that is what we are doing every single day.
And whether it's in presidential cabinets, or universities, whether the boardroom C-suite or non-profits, diversity and excellence go hand in hand.
And when an organization demands diversity, that is how they find the most excellent candidates. So, let's just be clear about that.
I also just want to acknowledge the Congressional Black Caucus leaders who here today, including Congressman Bobby Scott.
When I was nominated to be the Labor Secretary by President Biden, the Congressional Black Caucus was one of the first organizations to come out in strong support. And it's something I will be proud of for the rest of my life.
So yesterday, President Biden talked about how far we've come in just a few years. Remember where we were four years ago. Right? COVID was raging. There was no national strategy to get it under control. Unemployment was sky high. In fact, the Black unemployment rate reached nearly 17%. When we went to the store, we didn't know if we were going to be able to find toilet power. Remember panic buying?
Now compare it to where we are today. Since President Biden came to office, almost 16 million jobs have been created in this economy. That's more jobs created under President Biden than under any president in history for that same time period.
And the unemployment rate is historically low. In fact, it's been the lowest for the longest stretch of time since Niel Armstrong took a step on the moon. In fact, Black unemployment, since President Biden has been in office, has been the lowest on record.
And history shows the Black unemployment rate has always been higher than the white unemployment rate. But the gap — the unemployment rate between Blacks and whites — is also now the smallest it has ever been.
Now, none of this happened by accident. It happened with the fight for Black workers. And it happens when leaders make ending racial and occupational discrimination a priority. To achieve racial justice, you have to be intentional about it.
Yes. Right. You know this.
Now, President Biden's Investing in America Agenda is pouring billions of dollars into communities for safe roads and bridges, to make sure every family that turns on the faucet gets clean drinking water, that every community has access to high-speed reliable internet. And, that we are making things in America today, including building our manufacturing industry. Because for President Biden, made in America is not a slogan, it's an economic strategy.
And, we're making sure those jobs are good jobs. Because we need jobs that provide real security. We need benefits so you can go to the doctor when they're sick. And, we want them to be union jobs. Now, I have been highlighting these good jobs when I've traveled around the country as part of Good Jobs Summer. And we're making sure that Black workers are able to get these good jobs that are being created.
To do this, we need to build another kind of roads and bridges. The roads and bridges that connect people to the good jobs they want and need, and employers to the people that they want and need. And we need that infrastructure to be as strong as the physical infrastructure because like our physical infrastructure, that one has its weaknesses. It's got some potholes. It's got some cracks. It doesn't connect to every community the way that it should.
For far too long, some people have been excluded from good jobs, not because they didn't have the ability, not because they don't have the desire, and not because they don't have the skills. It's because we haven't built the roads and bridges between those jobs and workers who need them.
Not this time. In President Biden's American we are building an opportunity infrastructure as strong as our physical infrastructure. And on this, as on all things, Black women are leading the way.
And we're funding programs all across the country led by Black women from Atlanta to Chicago, from North Carolina to New York, they're developing pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs to increase access to good jobs in all communities.
And because leadership matters, having a president who believes in the right of all workers to organize also matters. So, since President Biden has come into office, more than 400,000 workers have joined a union. Yup.
And, that growth is being driven by Black workers. Like those who are making our nation's buses in Georgia and in Alabama, and autoworkers in Chattanooga, Tennesse — all of whom have now chosen to join a union. To anyone who says workers in the south can't be organized. Have they met workers in the south? Because it's happening.
Look, unions one of the most powerful forces, perhaps the most powerful force, to combat racial and gender pay gaps. In a union, pay for Black worker increases by 22.3%. So, if we pair the fight against racism with the fight against economic dislocation, we honor the Black workers across the country who are showing the way and strengthening our democracy.
And it's with that in mind, that on my first day at the Department of Labor, I challenged my team to do all that we can to uplift Black workers. That's why we added investigators for the first time in the Mississippi Delta — and also focused on industries where Black workers are disproportionately represented: hairdressers, food service workers, janitors and warehouse workers. That's how we fight occupational segregation. You all know this — that this is a phenomenon where certain workers are only given opportunities in industries that pay lower wages with poorer working conditions.
Now occupational segregation costs Black women $42.7 billion in wages last year compared to white women. I'm going to say that again. Occupational segregation costs Black women $42.7 billion in wages last year alone compared to white women. This is unconscionable. There should be no Black jobs or white jobs.
There should only be good jobs, and anybody should be able to get one. And do you know, if we closed the Black-white wealth gap in this country, the U.S. GDP would go up by 4 to 6 per cent by 2028. So, ending structural racism is good economic policy.
And, it is our work.
And, we have to do better when it comes to Black maternal health.
That's why we need better understanding of how workplace conditions impact Black maternal health and then legal protections that can support Black mothers during pregnancy, as they give birth, and then return to work.
Let me end with this, I know that we have a lot of work ahead of us. We know that we cannot fully realize the potential of this country if we exclude Black talent and Black excellence.
We know that in the richest country in the world, Black workers should not have to settle. Investing in Black America is investing in America.
I am all in. President Biden is all in. We are here with you to build the bridges, the bridges from poverty to prosperity, the bridges from insecurity to real opportunity, and the bridges from racial exclusion to real inclusion. We can do this. We are doing this. So, let's make it count and let's build together.