Secretary Solis' Labor Day 2012 Message
At today's D.O.L., every day is Labor Day
Elections have consequences, and one of the best consequences of Barack Obama's election as President was the appointment of Hilda Solis as our Secretary of Labor.
Under Secretary Solis' stewardship at the labor department, workers in America have what they never had during the eight long years of the previous administration - a guardian of workers' rights and an agency holding unscrupulous employers accountable for both wage and hour and health and safety violations.
In short, Hilda Solis and her staff have put the "labor" back in the "Labor Department".
So take a few minutes, and check out this special Labor Day message from Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis:
"We've come a long way in a short time, but there's still more to do, and this is my promise."Your Department of Labor will keep at it. Our committment to our mission and to you continues every single day.
"I wish you a happy, healthy, and safe Labor Day."
Learn more about Labor Day at www.dol.gov/LaborDay.
Statement by Hilda Solis to commemorate Labor Day 2012
On the first Monday of September, we honor the workers who built the world's strongest economy. This Labor Day, as the U.S. Department of Labor approaches our centennial celebration, I take extra pride in the historic efforts of today's workers to drive our recovery by learning new skills and adapting to new challenges.
For more than two centuries, the prospect of work has drawn people to our shores to pursue new opportunities and dreams of a better life. The demands on our workers have changed over the generations, but we've always risen to the occasion.
During the Industrial Age, factory workers saw their knowledge and paychecks grow as they mastered new processes to mass produce everything from automobiles to armaments. Following the Great Depression, more than 6 million women joined the workforce, clocking in at shipyards, lumber mills and foundries, and their production helped us win the Great War. And the Internet age carried the talents of our workers across the globe, as our ideas and products reached new markets and brought the world closer together.
As I mark my fourth Labor Day as the nation's secretary of labor, I'm inspired by job seekers from all walks of life in this country going back to school and upgrading their skills to match the demands of a 21st century global economy. I'm impressed by communities coming together and new partnerships being formed among employers, labor unions and community colleges. And I'm reminded that for this federal agency and this administration, Labor Day has been, and will always be, every single day.
This Labor Day, we lift up American workers who are doing what it takes to reinvent themselves to ensure that our future is even brighter than our past.
Presidential Proclamation on Labor Day 2012
"Our Nation faces tough times, but I have never stopped betting on the American worker. This is the labor force that revolutionized the assembly line and built the arsenal of democracy that defeated fascism in World War II. These are the workers who built our homes, highways, and rail lines, who educate our children and care for the sick. American workers have taken us through the digital revolution and into a 21st-century economy. As my Administration fights to create good jobs and restore the American dream, I am confident that, together, we will emerge from today's challenges as we always have -- stronger than ever before."Click here to read President Obama's Labor Day 2012 proclamation in full.