THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Milwaukee! (Applause.) Thank you! Oh, it’s good to be back inMilwaukee. Give Chris a big round of applause for that great introduction. (Applause.)
Happy Labor Day, everybody. Happy Labor Day. (Applause.) Today is a day that belongs to you–- the working men and women who make America the greatest country on Earth. So thank youto the working folks who are here today, and the unions who’ve always had your back. (Applause.) Thank you to the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, to the Wisconsin AFL-CIO. (Applause.)
It’s good to be back at Laborfest. I hope you don’t mind, I brought a friend with me, somebodywho is fighting for American workers every day -- America’s Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez, is inthe house. (Applause.) And I just found out Tom’s wife is from Milwaukee, so his father-in-law ishere. So I just told his father-in-law he’s doing a really good job, because you always want tomake a guy look good in front of his father-in-law. (Laughter.)
We’ve got some other friends I want to acknowledge. First of all, your Congresswoman, GwenMoore, is here. (Applause.) Your mayor, Tom Barrett, is in the house. (Applause.) We’ve got oneof my favorites, Mary Kay Henry from the SEIU. (Applause.) Newly elected Lily Garcia from NEA. (Applause.) My pal -- not a Packers fan, he’s a Steelers fan, but he’s a good guy anyway -- LeoGerard from USW, Steelworkers. (Applause.) Billy Hite from UA; Joe Hansen from UFCW. (Applause.)
To all the other labor leaders who are here, we are so glad to have you. And we’re here becauseof the things all too often we take for granted. Anybody who’s got a seat, feel free to sit down. Idon’t want anybody fainting; it’s all hot out here. I might get you back up on your feet at somepoint.
But we’re here to celebrate something that sometimes the American people take for granted --the 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, a minimum wage, weekends like this one. All that didn’thappen by accident. It happened because America’s workers organized for it, fought for it.History shows that working families can get a fair shot in this country, but only if we’re willingto fight for it.
Now, the first time I came to Laborfest was -- I was still a candidate back in 2019. (Applause.)And during that campaign, I promised if you sent me to the White House, I’d stand with youin that fight. (Applause.) Now, two weeks later, our financial system collapsed. A recessionalmost became a depression. And in the years since, our country has faced a choice. There aresome folks who wanted to place an even bigger bet on top-down economics, the kind ofeconomics that helped cause the crisis in the first place -– more tax cuts for those at the top,fewer rules for big banks and corporations, this blind faith that maybe prosperity would finallytrickle down on the rest of us if folks up at the top just kept on doing better and better.
But, you know what, Milwaukee, I didn’t run for President to double down on top-downeconomics. I ran for President because I believed in bottom-up economics. I believed in middle-out economics. I placed a bet on you. I placed a bet on America’s workers. (Applause.) I put mymoney on American workers and the belief that our economy grows best when everybody hasgot a shot -- when folks who are willing to work hard can get into the middle class and stay inthe middle class. And I’ve come back to Laborfest to say that because of your hard work,because of what we’ve been through together, that bet is starting to pay off.
America is stronger because of the decisions we made to rescue our economy and rebuild it ona new foundation asking the simple question, is this good for ordinary Americans, is this goodfor working people -- not just a few, but for everybody. And over the past 53 months, ourbusiness have created nearly 10 million new jobs. (Applause.) We’re on a streak where, the lastsix months, we’ve created more than 200,000 jobs each month -– that’s the first time that’shappened since 1997. (Applause.)
Construction is rebounding. Energy and technology are booming. American manufacturing issteadily creating jobs for the first time since the 1990s. Our businesses export more goodsmade right here in America to the rest of the world than ever before. (Applause.)
America is stronger because we saved the American auto industry and more than one millionjobs that depend on the auto industry. (Applause.) Today, our workers are building more carsthan any time since 2019 -- and, by the way, they’re really good cars. The auto industry isadding jobs at the strongest rate since the 1990s.
America is stronger because we invested in homegrown energy. The world’s number-one oil andgas producer -- it’s not Russia, it’s not Saudi Arabia -- it’s the U.S. of A. We are the largestproducer. (Applause.) And for the first time in nearly 20 years, America now produces more oilthan we buy from other countries. But we’re also producing more clean energy, putting folksback to work. We’ve tripled the amount of wind power that creates energy. We’ve increased by10 times the amount of solar power we create. And all of that is creating tens of thousands ofgood jobs all across the country. (Applause.)
America is stronger because we set our schools on a race to the top. We helped more middle-class families afford college. Today, thanks to outstanding teachers, our high school graduationrate is at a record high. (Applause.) More young people are earning their college degrees thanever before. (Applause.)
America is stronger because we helped millions of responsible homeowners stay in their homes,and we got some of biggest banks who sold deceptive mortgages to help make things right --they’re ponying up billions of dollars to do right by folks who got cheated. We changed a taxcode that was skewed too much to the wealthy at the expense of working families. We madesure, you know what, you guys have got to pay a little more. And as a consequence, we cutour deficits by more than half. (Applause.)
And yes, Milwaukee, America is stronger because millions more Americans have the peace ofmind of quality, affordable health insurance that they can count on. Yes, we did that. (Applause.)
So I just want everybody to understand -- because you wouldn’t always know it from watchingthe news -- (laughter) -- by almost every measure, the American economy and Americanworkers are better off than when I took office. (Applause.) We’re better off by almost everymeasure. But, look, none of this progress has come easy. Every inch of it we have had to fightfor. Every inch of it we’ve had to work against a lockstep opposition that is opposed toeverything we do.
But it was worth it. Every gray hair is worth it. (Applause.) Every gray hair is worth it -- and atleast I’ve still got some hair. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE MEMBER: And you look good!
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, I look good -- see, I like that. Thank you. (Applause.) Whenever folkssay -- whenever they see me they say, you know what, you look okay -- like they’re surprised. (Laughter.) And then sometimes they say I look taller than I do on TV. (Laughter.) I say, yes, Ilook -- that’s because the TV is small. It makes me look smaller. (Laughter.)
Look, it is thanks to the grit, to the resilience of working Americans that this country we love,it’s recovered faster, it’s come farther than almost any other advanced economy. For the firsttime in more than a decade, business leaders around the world, when you ask them, where doyou want to invest, what’s the number-one place to invest, they don’t say China, they don’t sayGermany -- they say the United States of America. And our lead is growing. (Applause.) U.S.A!
AUDIENCE: U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!
THE PRESIDENT: So, look, I’m saying all this just because sometimes, if you’re watching TVor something, it’s just kind of a whole downer. (Laughter.) We’ve got struggles. We’ve got workto do. But there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about America.
More folks are working. The economy’s growing stronger. The engines are revving a little louder.And the question now is, are we going to make the right decisions to accelerate this progress?Are we going to continue to focus on working families? Are we going to continue to make surethat a growing economy gives everybody rising incomes and wages? Are we going to make surethat we’re helping the middle class and everybody who is trying to get into the middle class?
It’s a good thing that corporate profits are high; I want American businesses to succeed. It’s agood thing that the stock market is booming; a lot of folks have 401Ks in there, I want them tofeel good. But I also want to see the guy who’s breaking his back on two eight-hour shifts sohe’s got enough money to send his kids to college, I want to make sure that guy is getting abreak. I want to make sure he’s getting some help. (Applause.) I want to see that woman who’sworked for 40 years be able to retire with some dignity and some respect. (Applause.) That’show I measure progress -- not just by how well the economy is doing overall but how it’sdoing for folks who are working so hard doing everything right, just want a fair shot, and didn’thave anything handed to them in their lives, weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouths.
And the reason that’s who I’m thinking about is because that’s the family I grew up in. That’sthe family Michelle’s family grew up in. This country gave me a chance. It gave Michelle achance. I believe in the American Dream because I have lived it. (Applause.) And I ran for thisoffice to restore it for everybody so no matter what you look like, and no matter where youcame from, no matter how you started, you can make it in America if you try. (Applause.)
So that’s what’s at stake right now. That’s what’s at stake: making sure the economy works foreverybody. I’ve got a vision of an economy where opportunity is open to everybody who’swilling to work hard. I want an economy where new, long-term investments in Americanenergy and American infrastructure and American manufacturing and American innovation areunleashing new jobs in new industries right here in Wisconsin, right here in Milwaukee; aneconomy where our workers have the chance to earn new skills that lead to that good job;where children graduate from school fully prepared for the global competition they’re goingto face.
I want an economy where your hard work pays off with higher wages, and higher incomes, andfairer pay for women, and workplace flexibility for parents, and affordable health insurance,and decent retirement benefits. (Applause.) I’m not asking for the moon, I just want a gooddeal for American workers. (Applause.)
Sometimes when I talk about this stuff to some of my folks on the other side of the aisle,they’re all like, well, why are you stirring up class resentments? I’m not stirring up classresentment.
Let me tell you something, working families, they’re fine that folks are rich. The average person,they’re not looking for a yacht. They’re not looking for their own plane. They’re not looking fora mansion. They don’t need to be vacationing in St. Bart’s. All they’re looking for is that if theywork hard, they can pay the bills; that they can send their kids to school; they can retire withsome dignity, maybe take a vacation once in a while -- go to Wisconsin Dells or something.They ain’t looking for nothing fancy. (Applause.) That’s where Michelle and I used to take Maliaand Sasha. We’d be in that water so long, fingers all pruned up. And there were a lot of littlekids in there, which made you a little suspicious about the water. (Laughter.) I’m just saying.That was not in the prepared remarks. (Laughter.)
Now, most of the policies I’m talking about have two things in common: They’re going to helpmore working families get ahead, and the Republicans who run our Congress oppose almost allof them.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
THE PRESIDENT: Don’t boo, vote. (Applause.) Don’t boo, vote. It’s easy to boo -- I want youto vote. Don’t boo, vote. They oppose almost everything. I’m not making that up; I’m justtelling the truth. It’s just the facts.
In fact, they oppose stuff they used to be for. No, it’s true. I mean, they used to be forbuilding roads and bridges and all that -- now, suddenly, no, we can’t build roads. Well, whynot? Because you oppose -- because you proposed it. I am just telling the truth. The sky isblue today. Milwaukee brats are delicious. The Brewers are tied for first place. (Applause.) AndRepublicans in Congress love to say no. Those are just facts, they’re facts of life. They say no toeverything.
If we had a Congress that cared about policies that actually helped working people, I promiseyou we could get everything done that we’ve talked about doing. But until we have thatCongress, it’s up to us to fight for these policies.
So wherever I can, I’ve acted on my own. I acted on my own to make sure more women had theprotections they needed to fight for fair pay on the workplace -- because I think when womensucceed, America succeeds. (Applause.) I was raised by a single mom, so know how hard it isfor a lot of women out there. And, by the way, men, you should want your wife to get paid fair.She’s bringing that money home. That’s not a women’s issue, that’s your issue. (Applause.)That’s money out of your family’s pocket.
That’s why I took action on my own to give millions of Americans the chance to cap theirstudent loan payments at 10 percent of their incomes. (Applause.) I don’t want young peoplesaddled with debt when they’re just starting out in life. That’s why I acted on my own to makesure companies that receive federal contracts, that they pay their workers a fair wage of at least$10.10 an hour. If you work full time in America, you shouldn’t be living in poverty, youshouldn’t be trying to support a family in poverty. (Applause.)
And in the year and a half since I first asked Congress to raise the minimum wage -- of course,the Republicans in Congress have blocked it -- but more and more Americans are doing theirpart to make it happen. This is why I stay optimistic, even with some of the nonsense thatgoes on in Washington. You’ve seen business leaders at companies like The Gap that raisedbase wages for tens of thousands of workers because they knew it was good for business.You’ve seen mayors across the country doing their part, and today, on Labor Day, the mayor ofLos Angeles is announcing a plan to raise his city’s minimum wage.
You’ve seen -- here’s a good story. Last month, the president of Kentucky State University, hegave himself a $90,000 pay cut so that he could raise wages for his lowest-paid employees. (Applause.) Thirteen states, District of Columbia -- they’ve raised their minimum wages. Fourmore states are putting minimum wage initiatives on the ballot in November.
And you know what, here’s the best part -- you’ll hear opponents, they’ll say, well, minimumwage, they’re going to kill jobs. Except it turns out, the states where the minimum wage hasgone up this year had higher job growth than the states that didn’t raise the minimum wage.That’s the facts. (Applause.)
All across the country right now, there’s a national movement going on made up of fast foodworkers organizing to lift wages so they can provide for their families with pride and dignity.There is no denying a simple truth: America deserves a raise. Folks are doing very well on WallStreet, they’re doing very well in the corporate board rooms -- give America a raise. (Applause.)
And I think, eventually, Congress is going to hear them. We’ll break those folks down. We’lljust stay on them. We’ll just keep at it. That’s how I got Michelle to marry me -- I just wore herdown. (Laughter.) Persistence -- you just stay at it. Because the only thing more powerful thanan idea whose time has come is when millions of people are organizing around an idea whosetime has come. Millions of people are voting for an idea whose time has come. (Applause.)
I know it gets frustrating, though, when it feels like your voices aren’t heard in Washington. Ipromise you I share that frustration. After all that unions have done to build and protectworking Americans, I know it’s frustrating when people have the gall to blame you for theproblems facing working Americans. I know you’ve got some experience with that around here. (Applause.)
But you know what, if I were looking for a good job that lets me build some security for myfamily, I’d join a union. (Applause.) If I were busting my butt in the service industry andwanted an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work, I’d join a union. If I were a firefighter orpolice officer risking my life and helping to keep my community safe, and wanted to make sureI came home safely to my family, I’d join a union. (Applause.) I’d want a union looking out forme.
And if I cared about these things, I’d also want more Democrats looking out for me. I’m justsaying. (Applause.) Because when the rest of the country is working to raise wages, butRepublicans in Congress won’t, it ain’t right. Not only is it not right, it ain’t right. (Laughter.)When the rest of the country is working to open up more businesses, but Republicans inCongress block investments that would help more businesses grow, it ain’t right. When unionsand CEOs, when law enforcement and the evangelical community, when folks who usuallydon’t agree on anything agree that we should be fixing our broken immigration system, but theRepublicans in the House of Representatives have been sitting on a bill for more than a year, itain’t right.
So that’s why we have to keep fighting. At the beginning of the last century, people foughtagainst the idea of a 40-hour workweek, they fought against weekends, they fought againstworkplace safety laws. 80 years ago, people fought against the idea of Social Security. 50 yearsago, people fought against the idea of Medicare. But guess what? We won those fights. (Applause.)
And just like in the past, today, you’ve still got people fighting against the right for health carefor everybody, or the right to fair wages, or they even fight against equal pay for equal work.But we will win those fights, too. I promise. And I know that because America is the story ofprogress. It can be slow, yes. It can be frustrating. Sometimes you get half a loaf where youwanted the whole loaf -- sometimes you might just get a quarter of a loaf.
But if you look at our history, the story is progress. And that’s because there have always beenAmericans who have had the courage to march and to organize and to fight for themselves,but then also to fight for each other. And I’m asking you to do the same thing. I asked you thesame thing back in 2019.
I’m asking you to believe not just in my ability to bring about the change we need, I’m askingyou to believe in yours. I’m asking you to believe in you. Because even when our politics justain’t right, there’s a whole lot that is right with America.
America is that dad who punches in every morning to put food on the table. America is themom who’s working the graveyard shift to provide for her kids. America is the child whodreams of being the first in his family to go to college. America is the teacher who stays afterwork and dips into her own pocket for supplies to help that child get there. America is theautoworker who thought she’d never make another car again, and now she can’t make themfast enough. America is the construction worker who’s helping build more homes andbusinesses to get solar panels on the top. America is on the move. America is on the move. (Applause.)
America is not the party we belong to, but the values we share. America is hard work. Americais responsibility. America is sacrifice. America is looking out for one another. Let’s embracesome economic patriotism that says we rise or fall together as one nation, as one people.
Don’t reward companies that ship jobs and profits overseas; reward companies that areinvesting right here in Milwaukee. (Applause.) Let’s make sure our fellow citizens have access togood childcare and preschool and college and health care. Let’s make sure women get fair pay.Let’s make sure working moms and dads can get a day off if their child is sick or their parentsare having a tough time. Let’s make sure nobody who is working full time is raising their familyin poverty. (Applause.) These ideas are not un-American, they’re how we built America --together.
I’ll tell you, Milwaukee, the hardest thing in life is changing a stubborn status quo. And it’seven harder when it seems like some of the folks in power, all they care about is keeping power.But there are plenty of folks who count on you to get cynical and not vote because you don’tthink you can make a difference. That’s how they’re going to stay in power. They believe youwon’t get involved. They believe you won’t organize. They believe you won’t vote. And thatway, the special interests stay in power. And they will try to divide us, and they’ll try todistract you, and they’ll try to run the okey-doke on you, and bamboozle you, and hoodwinkyou -- don’t buy it. Don’t buy it.
Because despite the cynics, America is on the move. It’s making progress. Despite all theopposition, there are workers who have jobs now who didn’t have them before. There arefamilies with health insurance who didn’t have them before. There are students going tocollege who couldn’t afford it before. There are troops who were in Afghanistan who are cominghome. (Applause.)
Cynicism is fashionable these days, but cynicism didn’t put anybody on the moon. Cynicismnever won a war, it never cured a disease, it never started a business, it never fed a youngmind, it never built a road or a bridge.
Cynicism is a bad choice. Hope is the better choice. Hope is what gives us courage. Hope is whatgave soldiers courage to storm a beach. Hope is what gives young people the strength to marchfor women’s rights, and worker’s rights, and civil rights, and voting rights, and gay rights, andimmigration rights. (Applause.)
Hope, the belief that there are better days ahead; the belief that together, we can build up ourmiddle class and hand down something better to our kids -- that’s what built America. AndAmerica’s best days are still ahead. I believe it. You need to believe it, too. Let’s get to work.
Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
