The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
August 30, 2014
Weekly Address: This Labor Day, Let’s Talk About the Minimum Wage
WASHINGTON, DC —In this week’s address, the
President wished Americans a Happy Labor Day weekend, highlighted the
important economic progress we’ve made, and reaffirmed his commitment to
accelerate our progress and ensure that our growing economy fuels a
strong middle class. To do this, the President reiterated that Congress
should do right by hardworking Americans across the country and raise
the minimum wage and he praised the 13 states and Washington, DC as well
as employers large and small who have heeded his call and taken action
to provide their citizens and employees a fair wage. The President
underscored that America built the world’s greatest middle class by
making sure that everyone who’s willing to work hard and play by the
rules can get ahead – an economic patriotism worth remembering this
Labor Day, and every day.
The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 a.m. ET, August 30, 2014.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
August 30, 2014
Weekly Address
The White House
August 30, 2014
Hi, everybody. Whether you’re firing up the grill, fired
up for some college football, or filling up the car for one last summer
roadtrip – Happy Labor Day weekend.
We set aside Labor Day to honor the working men and women
of America. And this Labor Day, we’ve got more to celebrate. Over the
past 53 months, our businesses have added nearly 10 million new jobs.
Last month, for the first time since 1997, we created more than 200,000
jobs for six straight months. And for the first time in over a decade,
business leaders worldwide have declared, two years running, that the
number one place to invest isn’t China – it’s America.
So there are reasons to be optimistic about where we’re
headed. And the decisions we make now will determine whether or not we
accelerate this progress – whether economic gains flow to a few at the
top, or whether a growing economy fuels rising incomes and a thriving
middle class.
Think about it this Labor Day. The things we often take
for granted – Social Security and Medicare, workplace safety laws and
the right to organize for better pay and benefits, even weekends – we
didn’t always have these things. Workers and the unions who get their
back had to fight for them. And those fights built a stronger middle
class.
To build a stronger middle class in today’s changing
economy, we’ve got to keep fighting. We’ve got to fight for the right
to affordable health insurance for everybody. The right to fair pay,
family leave, and workplace flexibility. The right to a fair living
wage.
Let me focus on that last one for a minute. In America,
no one who works full-time should ever have to raise a family in
poverty. A hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. And raising the
minimum wage would be one of the best ways to give a boost to working
families. It would help around 28 million Americans from all walks of
life pay the bills, provide for their kids, and spend that money at
local businesses. And that grows the economy for everyone.
The bottom line is, America deserves a raise. But until
we’ve got a Congress that cares about raising working folks’ wages, it’s
up to the rest of us to make it happen. And in the year and a half
since I first asked Congress to raise the minimum wage, Americans of all
walks of life are doing just that.
Thirteen states and D.C. have done their part by raising
their minimum wages. Four more states have minimum wage initiatives on
the ballot this November. And the states where the minimum wage has
gone up this year have experienced higher job growth than the states
that haven’t.
Business leaders at companies like The Gap are doing their
part. They’re raising base wages for tens of thousands of workers
because they know it’s good for business.
Mayors across the country are doing their part. Mayor
Emanuel in Chicago and Mayor Garcetti in L.A. are working to lift their
cities’ wages over time to at least thirteen dollars an hour.
I’ve tried to do my part by requiring companies that get
contracts with the federal government to pay their workers a fair wage
of ten dollars and ten cents an hour.
And earlier this month, the president of Kentucky State
University set a great example by giving himself a $90,000 pay cut, so
that he could give raises to his lowest-paid employees. His sacrifice
will give more of his workers and their families a little extra money to
help make ends meet.
That’s how America built the greatest middle class the
world has ever known. Not by making sure a fortunate few at the top are
doing well, but by making sure that everyone who’s willing to work hard
and play by the rules can get ahead. That’s the bedrock this country
is built on. Hard work. Responsibility. Sacrifice. And looking out
for one another as one united American family.
Let’s keep that in mind this Labor Day, and every day. Have a great weekend, everybody.
labor day
