ウィスパリング同時通訳研究会コミュのPresident Biden Delivers Remarks at the 29th AFL-CIO Quadrennial Constitutional Convention

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, AFL-CIO! (Applause.) You ain’t labor, you’re union. It makes a difference! (Laughs.) It’s good to be home. (Applause.) As they say in Claymont, you all brung me to the dance. Thank you.

Please. Please, have a seat if there is one. (Laughs.)

You’re a gigantic reason why I’m standing here — standing here today as your President. I really mean it. I owe you. From the very beginning of my running for office, back when I was a kid, it was labor, the unions. Made a difference. At the time, we were a right-to-work state, and we changed that too.

You’ve — I’ve never forgotten not only what you’ve done for me but how importantly it meant to me and — and to the country, to our country — what you’ve done for our country.

And I want to thank Liz for being such a good friend for so long, the first woman to lead the AFL-CIO. (Applause.) Born into a union household. Started out as an organizer, and she never stopped. Congratulations, Liz. Congratulations.

And congratulations to Fred Redmond, your Secretary-Treasurer as well. (Applause.) I hope your daughter-in-law knows she’s marrying into a union family. (Laughs.)

Anyway, look, I know this is bittersweet for all of us. This is the first convention without Rich Trumka. Rich was not only a legendary labor leader, he literally was a close friend to me and to so many of you. A true friend, particularly there when things weren’t going well. He was always there.

Above all, he was an American worker. No matter how high he rose through the ranks, he never forgot where he came from. We use that phrase all the time — “never forget where you came from.” He never forgot where he came from or what this work is all about.

You know, before Rich passed, he gave me — (applause) — he gave me the highest compliment that I’ve ever gotten in my life, and I mean it sincerely. He called me — which your president just did — the “most pro-union President in history.” I promised you I would be, and I commit to you: As long I have this job, I will remain that. (Applause.)

And, folks — (applause) — thank you.

I’ve got to tell you, nothing made me prouder than that. That’s why I made sure we put a former union president in as Secretary of Labor. (Laughs.) (Applause.) Marty Walsh. Marty. (Pronounced in Boston accent.) He’s going to learn how to speak English, but he’s real. (Laughter.) I kid him all the time. I’m joking. He parks his car in a car barn — (pronounced in Boston accent) — but he knows what he’s doing. (Laughter.)

Marty was here yesterday, and he’s doing a hell of a job, but he fights like hell for us all.

And just yesterday — (applause) — just yesterday, I had a conversation — a Zoom conversation — with our next senator from this state, John Fetterman. (Applause.) You know, if you’re in a foxhole, you want John with you, man.

I know he can’t wait to get back on the trail. He’s looking good. And there’s no bigger, stronger voice for working people in this state than John — certainly no bigger one, for that matter. (Laughter.)

Look, we’re also joined here today by three great members of Congress who flew up with me on Air Force One: Brendan Boyle, who is labor, labor, labor. (Applause.) Donald Norcross, who is labor, labor. (Applause.) And Mary Kay [Gay] Scanlon as well. (Applause.) All — by the way, they’ve all be there when the tough — when the votes were tough. When the votes were tough to stay with you, they were there. And they’re great champions of unions.

And Stacey Abrams is here as well. By the way, I’m going to ask you all a favor. Help her in Georgia. (Applause.) Help Stacey Abrams in Georgia.

There’s three things I learned about her early on. One, she’s loyal. Two, she’s capable. And three, she’s smarter than you — me. (Laughter.) She knows what she’s doing. So, folks, please, help her out.

And, folks, thanks to all of you, we’re coming along and — we’ve come a long way in a short time.

Do you remember when our economy was like — what it looked like before we took office? Three thousand Americans were dying every day from COVID. Twenty million Americans had lost their jobs under the last guy.

In fact, so many Americans lost their jobs that my predecessor became just the second President in history to leave office with fewer jobs in America than when he took office. But you stepped up. The other one, by the way, was Herbert Hoover.

And just remember — remember those long lines of cars stretching miles back, waiting for just a box of food to be put back in their trunk? It wasn’t just poor folk, it was working-class folk, it was middle-class folks. A lot of pretty nice cars in those lines.

And while it was going on, America created more than — more billionaires during that crisis in 2020 than any year in history. Talk about a contrast.

Ordinary people getting — waiting in line for an hour for a box of food. And the policies in the past created more billionaires than ever in American history.

Folks, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. That’s what we inherited.

And then, with your help, we went to work with an economic vision that looks out from Scranton, Pennsylvania — hardworking towns like it all across America — not down from Wall Street.

Wall Street didn’t build this country, the middle class built this country. And unions built the middle class. (Applause.)

I’m not joking. Without unions, there would be no middle class. (Applause.) That’s a fact.

And, by the way, there’s a reason. You’re the best-trained workers in the world, not a — that’s not hyperbole. When you do well, everybody does well.

You know, if investment bankers in America — they’re not all bad guys. They’re not bad. But guess what? If they went on strike, not a whole hell of a lot would happen. (Laughter.) But guess what? Guess what? I tell this to my buddy — if the IB- — IBEW went on strike, everything shuts down. (Applause.) All of you. Go down the row.

No, I’m serio- — no, you guys don’t understand; you don’t ta- — you don’t — I don’t think you appreciate how critically important you are. I’m not trying to be nice to you; it’s just a fact.

Folks, we need an economy built from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down. Because I know when the middle class does well, everybody does. The wealthy do very well. They’re never hurt.

But I also know too often we’ve had an economy where the wealthy do better and better while the middle class gets left behind.

So we went to work to change that. It started with the American Rescue Plan. The law helped 41 mi- — people — 41 million people put food on their table. Remember, they were having trouble putting food on their table. It put money in the pockets of hardworking Americans who were in trouble, being thrown out on the street because they couldn’t pay their rent through no fault of their own. It gave them what my dad used to call “just a little bit of breathing room.” (Applause.)

The next step was the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. And now not only is it Infrastructure Week, we’ve arrived at Infrastructure Decade! (Applause.)

And people are going to see a lot of it. We got to remind them where it’s coming from. We announced nearly $3 billion this year to improve more than 3,000 airports across 50 states this year — this year. We announced $5 billion so union workers could get to work building a national network of electric vehicle charging stations. We announced the largest investment of public transit in American history — more than the entire Amtrak system when it started: $20.5 billion. (Applause.)

And the people we come from — like when the President — President Obama used to always give me the good assignments. Well, I remember one day, I walked in — not a joke — he said, “Joe, fix Detroit.” I said, “Okay, no problem.” (Laughter.) No, you think I’m kidding. You think I’m kidding.

What I didn’t realize is I already knew a lot about the cities. When I was in Detroit, the vast majority of the people living in these cities, their jobs are out of town because they’re not doing manufacturing in towns anymore. Out of town.

So we got a rail system for them. We got a freight sys- — we got a bus system. It changed it. It’s growing. It’s going to create more good jobs using products that are made in America. And, folks, it’s also going to reduce pollution while it’s making it safer and safer for folks to go to work and get to work every day.

What all this means for all of you is a simple proposition. And I remember us having this discussion, old buddy. When I think global warming, I think jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs. Good-paying union jobs. Jobs you can raise a family on. Jobs you can’t out- — be outsourced. (Applause.)

Look, the infrastructure law is about more than rebuilding our infrastructure. It’s about rebuilding the middle class. And that’s why we made sure that the infrastructure law included significant labor protections. For example, I insisted that the overwhelming majority of the funds included in the law are subject to Davis-Bacon requirements. Union has to do it. (Applause.)

And it’s not just because they want to help unions. It’s simple: You’re the best in the world. If we’re going to build infrastructure, we should have — you know, what I always find we don’t talk enough about, and I’m not going to take the time today — but you know what? You don’t just decide you want to be a pipe fitter or an electrician or whatever else you want to pick. It takes you four or five years’ hard work. It’s like going to college. Fortunately, you get these union paid — you get paid to do some of it.

But my point is: People don’t realize — and I see every place I go — and you’ve heard me do it at Chambers of Commerce — the best-trained workers in the world.

So, folks rebuilding our country will earn a prevailing wage. They should.

Another thing the law does: It’s helped expand registered apprenticeships. Remember when the la- — when the business was saying, “We’ll take care of the apprenticeships?” Bless me Father, for I have sinned. Come on, man! (Laughter and applause.) Come on.

Union partnerships that allow workers to earn while they learn. It matters. Because laying a strong foundation for the future of this country is about more than having strong roads and bridges. It’s about making sure that, here in America, folks who work hard can live their lives with dignity and respect.

That’s why I continue to call on Congress to finally pass the PRO Act — (applause) — which will make it easier for workers to organize.

You know, when Franklin Roosevelt passed the NLRB, it didn’t say you can’t have unions. It said we should encourage unions. That’s what the NLRB says. It’s a big difference.

And, look, I’m not just saying that to be pro-union. I’m saying it because I’m pro-American. (Applause.)

Folks, that’s the approach I’ve taken to build this economy. And what has to be done? Well, we brought down COVID deaths by 90 percent. We opened schools and businesses that were shuttered. All — it all created the greatest job recovery in American history.

People don’t want to talk about it these days, but it’s true: Since I’ve become President, we’ve created 8.7 million new jobs in 16 months. An all-time record. (Applause.) And even last month, 390,000 jobs and 600,000 new manufacturing jobs. And they said manufacturing is dead in America. (Applause.)

Look, folks, our unemployment rate is near historic lows — and 3.7 percent. And millions of Americans are leaving — I love these guys talking about why these — “This guy left my employment and went to another job.” Because he got paid more. (Laughter and applause.) Isn’t that awful? Isn’t that a shame that they got to compete for labor?

Better-paying jobs, for better jobs for them and their families. It’s been a long time since that’s happened in this country, but it’s happening now. And it’s working.

Since I took office, with your help, families are carrying less debt nationwide. They have more savings nationwide. (Applause.) More Americans applied for new small businesses last year than ever before in American history. (Applause.) 5.4 million new small-business applications. Jobs and companies are coming home again. And we’re making “Buy American” a reality, not just a slogan. (Applause.) I award no contracts from the federal government unless they can prove they bought it in America.

And, by the way, Republicans like to portray me as some kind of big spender. We have spent a lot of money, but let’s compare the facts. Under my predecessor, the deficit exploded, raising — rising every single year. And all of the benefit going to the top 1 percent, basically.

Under my plan, last year we cut the deficit by $350 billion, doing all this. (Applause.)

You know, they talk about, “Biden wants to spend more on schools and all this. Guess what? He’s going to create a deficit.”

Ladies and gentlemen, this year, by the end of the fiscal year, we will have cut the federal deficit by another $1.6 trillion — in one year. One year. (Applause.)

So, when they come to you and talk about big spenders, let them know. Almost $2 trillion in deficit reduction.

I don’t want to hear any more of these lies about reckless spending. We’re changing people’s lives. (Applause.) And because of the fact, this year, we’re delivering the biggest drop in the deficit in the history of the United States of America. (Applause.)

Look, the point is this: Under my plan for the economy, we’ve made extraordinary progress. And we put America in a position to tackle the wor- — worldwide problem that’s worse everywhere but here: inflation. It’s sapping the strength of a lot of families.

I grew up in household not far from here, in Claymont and Wilmington, where if the price of a gallon of gasoline went up, it was a conversation at the dinner table. It mattered. It mattered in my working family. It mattered if the price of food went up.

The problem is Republicans in Congress are doing everything they can to stop my plans to bring down costs on ordinary families.

That’s why my plan is not finished and why the results aren’t finished either. Jobs are back, but prices are still too high. COVID is down, but gas prices are up. Our work isn’t done.

But here’s the deal. America still has a choice to make: a choice between a government by the few, for the few, or a government for all of us, democracy for all of us, an economy where all of us have a fair shot and a chance to earn our place in the economy.