ウィスパリング同時通訳研究会コミュのPresident Biden Delivers Remarks on Historic American Rescue Plan Pension Relief

Bill DeVito: (00:02)
They say they want us to be really upbeat. I would like anyone to come to an Iron Worker’s Local 17 meeting. Talk about upbeat. It’s more than that. I’ll guarantee you.

Bill DeVito: (00:19)
Good afternoon. My name’s Bill DeVito. I’m a retired iron worker out of local 17 Cleveland, Ohio. I’ll get some flack for this one. I joined the iron workers in 1973 and worked in the trade for nearly 40 years. Been retired from about 2012. I get teased about that.

Bill DeVito: (00:51)
At that time, our pension plan was in trouble in 1912, things were having problems. Local 17 funds were barely surviving the last recession. And just like a lot of people, we were struggling. Our pension plan was failing and if we didn’t take action, funds would be expected to run dry within the next handful of years. Members of Local 17 came together and made some very tough decisions and we voted to take significant cuts to our monthly benefits.

Bill DeVito: (01:30)
This was tough. In order to prolong along the life of the plan. No one expected the cuts to be 20 to 40%. This was devastating. Anybody that was married with kids trying to help out college. Retirement dreams gone, but we could save the plan, not just for ourselves, but for the younger iron workers coming up behind us. We took the cut. So that’s what we did. We kept the fund afloat, but we sank the retirement plan.

Bill DeVito: (02:15)
And that, with so many of our union brothers and sisters had dreamed about, our retirement. But we never stopped fighting. So with the lives disrupted, we needed to pass the Butch Lewis Act and to restore the retirement of the hardworking people like me, even when people said it was impossible, we never gave up hope. And neither did the friends like Sherrod Brown, Marcy Kaptur, Marty Walsh, Joe Biden. I just about shook their hands off when they were back there. And we won against all odds. We won a president and a Congress that believes in keeping promises to working people. As president, Joe Biden has done more for unions than any president that I can recall and I’ve been around a long time. Just look at this gray hair.
(03:41)
Workers like me and unions like Iron Workers Local 17 have been promised quite a bit over the years, but no other administration has done anything to help our pension funds regardless of any promises that they’ve made. The American Rescue Act is important for working families, just like mine. Here in Cleveland and across the country, we work hard for every dollar we earn, but some days it feels like the odds are stacked against us.
(04:22)
Even in retirement, we hear about banks, big corporations getting huge tax cuts and breaks or collecting a bailout when they get into any kind of trouble. But the blue collar guy like me, people in this room, we don’t get breaks like that. It’s pretty incredible that it’s not something you heard about such a happy ending with the act that had been passed.
(05:04)
I am a recipient of ARPA support for multi-employer pension plans. And I may be the front man here today, but so many people, our President, Joe Biden, Senator Sherrod Brown, Representative Marcy Kaptor, they’re the force behind this. Thank you. Thank you. And the hardworking men and women of the American labor movement have worked for so many years. They are the real heroes.
(05:53)
And now it’s my great honor to introduce the man who made this day possible. Many politicians promised, dangled and delayed pension rescue; Joe Biden delivered life changing aid, so many people like me, please welcome to the stage true friend of labor, let’s hear it Cleveland, Joe Biden.

Joe Biden: (07:51)
Hello Cleveland. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to the orchestra. Thank you very much. Well, let me start off by saying I’d get in trouble with my mother were she here if I didn’t say it, excuse my back when I’m speaking. I apologize. Number one. You have my…
(08:14)
Hello Cleveland. Before I begin though, I want to make one serious comment about the shooting and death of Jayland Walker. The Justice Department and Civil Rights Division of the FBI field office in Akron, Ohio, and the local US Attorney’s office are closely monitoring and reviewing what happened. And the FBI continues to coordinate with state and local partners to provide resources and specialized skill. If the evidence reveals potential violations of federal criminal statutes, the Justice Department will take the appropriate action and I just want you to know what’s going to happen.
(08:51)
Now for today’s program. Thank you Bill for that introduction and for the welcome on behalf of the Iron Workers Local 17 here in Cleveland. Iron workers.

Bill DeVito: (09:03)
We have the iron workers, Local 17 here in Cleveland. Iron workers were with me the first time I ran 29-year-old kid in the Senate, and you’re all crazy. You got a guy named Tommy Shrank was the president of the local in Delaware. And he said, “Let’s go out and meet some of the guys and women.” We went out to a building construction site. We went up a makeshift elevator. We went up to 13 floors. They’re sitting on 18-inch beams eating their lunch. I’m thinking myself, my God, these guys are supporting me. But they’re the guys I grew up with.
(09:35)
You know, the people you heard speak earlier today, and I apologize, I’m going to repeat some of what they said. But you know, we all come from the neighborhood. We all come from… No, I mean it. I was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which was a union town, mostly coal mine, union town, a lot more. My great-grandfather was a, was worked in the mines was a mining engineer. And everybody there, there was only one word you heard most often in my family, not a joke, most important word wasn’t unions, it was dignity. Dignity. Everyone’s entitled to be treated with dignity.
(10:17)
My dad, then we moved to a little town. When coal died, we moved to a town called Claymont, Delaware, just across the line from Pennsylvania where the Delaware River bends. And you know, used to have over 6,000 steel workers. We’re steal. It’s all gone, now. All of it gone. Used to be a company town, literally. The Hills were all company stores, company buildings, but it’s gone. And the union movement began to just crumble in Delaware and in Claymont.
(10:56)
And my dad never belonged to a union, but I say this to the front end, my dad was a salesperson and he came down from Scranton, when coal died, he wasn’t a coal miner, but he worked in sales up there. And I’ll never forget. We lived in a three bedroom split level home, like a lot of suburban areas developing in the early ’50s, mid ’50s. And there were I think 38, 40 homes. And we had four kids in the family and a grandpa living with us and mom and dad. And the walls were thin. And my dad, one night I could tell he was really restless. I could hear him and sort of not banging, but leaning up against the wall, in the room, in my room. Next morning, I asked… My dad had an expression. He said, “Joey, you never complained and never explain. Just get up. Just get up.” And I was wondering what was wrong. And asked my mom. She said, the company says, “No pensions.” No pensions.
(11:54)
And so, a lot of you come from families like mine. A lot of the people stood behind me. Richie Neal from the state of Massachusetts. He is, as my uncle would say, Richie is, he is union from belt buckle to shoe sole, man. But all the folks you heard speak today, care about it. Because we know what it’s like to be deprived of your dignity. We know what it’s like to have a father or a mother have to put their head down, and know they can’t afford a thing for their kid that they need, whether it’s a prescription or whether it’s just plain being able to go off to school.
(12:32)
And to a point I want to make is this. We all understand this. And when I ran for office this time and I’ve been a union supporter for my whole career, but I made a promise. I mean it sincerely, and Marty knows this. I guaranteed when the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed and back in the ’30s and Roosevelt came along, it didn’t say unions were okay. It says we should encourage unions. Encourage unions. Because when unions do well, everybody does well. Everybody does well. Not a joke. Not a joke.
(13:15)
So here’s the deal. The deal was quite simple. When I ran, I was criticized for the basis upon which I ran. I said, I’m running for three reasons. One to restore the soul of America, the decency and honor of this country. And two to rebuild the backbone of the country. The backbone of the country are the working women and men, the middle class, and you know, there’s a middle class for one reason, American unions. That’s the only reason there’s a middle class. Not a joke. That’s a fact, not a joke. And when the middle class does well, everybody does well. People have a way up and the wealthy still do very well. And so folks in the third reason I ran was to unify the country. To unify. That’s been the harder part of it right now. No, I’m serious because we’ve become so divided. So divided in this. But one thing we were divided on when we ran and I want to thank Mayor Bibb for the passport of the city, but we were divided on the question we’re celebrating today.
(14:24)
And folks, how about actually having a union guy as Secretary of Labor. Isn’t that something. Thank you, Marty. And I know we have a fantastic Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Cleveland’s own Marsha Fudge. She wish she going to be here. I’m also honored to be here with Senator Sherrod Brown, a great champion of working folks. He really is. He really is. And thank you also for the incredible democratic members of Congress here, Marcy Kaptur. God love you, Marcy. You are the best. She does it all, unions and foreign policy. You think I’m joking. I’m not joking. She really knows more about foreign policy. She’s forgotten more than most members of Congress know. And Shontel Brown can just remembered me when you’re president. Okay. All right. Congratulations.
(15:20)
Look. And Richie Neil is not only a strong, strong union supporter and been a great supporter of this legislation, but he’s chairman of the most powerful committee in the United States Congress, the House of Ways and Means Committee, the guys with the money. The guys and the money. And he’s led on labor issues for decades. While they couldn’t be here, I also want to thank Senator Tim Ryan, future Senator Tim Ryan, and Senator Patty Murray, the state of Washington for their incredible work on this legislation. With everyone’s leadership and with their votes, and most of all, with the unrelenting commitment of labor and all of you this historic day is made possible. And it really is historic. This was $90 billion, okay? But it’s small in comparison to the bailouts of businesses and major corporations and banks.
(16:20)
And folks, I’m here today to talk about the issue that affects every single American in their retirement. People around the country, wake up every day, wondering whether they’ve saved enough to provide for themselves and their families before they stop working. Working a job that provides basic dignity, a good middle class job. You can raise a family on a job that provides a dignified retirement and will give you peace of mind.
(16:46)
Think of all the people. And many of you went to bed at night, putting your head in the pillow and saying, am I going to be all right? Is my family going to be all right? Is my wife or my husband or my child, they going to be okay? It’s a dignified retirement with your spouse or the home and your community, you worked and lived for your whole life. But the reality is for so many people, the goal post keep moving. Unfortunately, that’s probably Trump calling me. [inaudible 00:17:19] I hear that sound there.
(17:24)
Unfortunately, this happens to people who need it most, working people in this country. A lot of politicians like to talk about how they’re going to do something about it. Well, I’m here today to say we’ve done something about it. And I’ve kept a promise. I campaigned to restore the backbone of this country, the middle class in unions, because I know this, the middle class built American, unions built the middle class, and today I’m keeping a promise. One of the most significant achievement union workers in retirees have received in over 50 years. And that’s not hyperbole.
(18:02)
… Over 50 years and that’s not hyperbole. For years and years, union workers have been driving trucks from factories to stores, bagging your groceries, constructing the buildings, bridges, roads we need and so much more. The iron workers, brick layers, carpenters, laborers, plumbers, truck, drivers, musicians. I might add food workers and so much more. And with each paycheck you earn, their employers, putting money into their pension plans. These workers work hard today to secure retirement for tomorrow. That’s what it’s all about. Now, a lot of businesses aren’t able or willing to run their own pension plans. And some industries workers are employed by several different employers over the course of a year or longer. For example, we see that in transportation, construction, and entertainment. So working with a union that represents their employees, businesses in the same industry often come together to form what’s called a Mueller employer union.
(19:01)
I know you know this, but people listening to this on television, may not know this. Pension plans that serve 11 million Americans across the country. And to make sure these pensions are managed responsibly and to protect the participating workers and retirees, the federal government oversees, then ensures the plans. But we’ve seen the risk that millions of workers face as they watch their hard earned pensions turn into broken promises. We saw it before the pandemic and the economic crisis that followed. Millions of retirees were at risk of losing their retirement security through no fault of their own, based on conditions and unrelenting attacks on unions that were taking place. Two hundred Mueller employee pension plants for two to 3 million workers and retirees were going in solvent. What that means to those two or 3 million workers, they faced painful cuts to the benefits they had counted on and for the dignified security retirement. You just heard from Bill what it’s like.
(20:08)
Work 30, 40, 50 years, working hard every single day, doing everything to provide for your family, track every dollar on that paycheck for groceries, mortgage, and hopefully for family vacation, maybe one day. And knowing when it’s time to retire, your pension you earn will be there. Knowing that together with your social security benefits that pension will continue a good middle class life for you in retirement. For some, my dad would say, “Just a little peace of mind.” But for folks at home, imagine losing 50 or 60% of that pension through absolutely no fault of your own. Imagine what it does financially and emotionally, what it does to your dignity. Also here is David Grubbs, retired Teamster, truck driver from North Carolina, who faced nearly 70% cutting his pension. And now, also joining me today as Rita Lewis. Where are you Rita? Rita’s here somewhere. I’m told she stepped out. I don’t blame her.
(21:19)
No, she’s Butch’s widow. Their anniversary is coming up in a couple days. Childhood sweethearts. Butch was a ball player drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of high school, but he enlisted the United States Army instead. Special Forces, Army ranger, served in Vietnam. Earned, like my son, the Bronze Star. My son did not earn the Purple Heart, but earned the Purple Heart. Came back home to [inaudible 00:21:45] settle in Cincinnati. Became a trucker represented by the Teamsters, and then president of his local. Known as an honorable, honest and decent labor leader, Butch faced severe cuts in his pension and he became a fierce advocate of protecting the pensions of those fellow workers. Butch died more than six years ago, and Rita has carried on his legacy ever since. (22:11)
And with… And Democrats in Congress, I might add, and Marty Walsh’s leadership, we brought the Butch… We fought for the Butch Lewis Act to protect pensions for millions of workers and retirees. As candidate for president, I argued for its passage and promised when it passed I would sign it. And that’s the promise I’ve kept when I included the Butch Lewis Act in the American rescue plan. Now, Mueller employee plans will remain solvent for decades and come at least until, guaranteed till 2051. These retirees, those retirees that have lost their benefits will have them restored retroactively. We turned a promise broken into a promise kept. It matters to workers. It matters to their families. It matters to the country. You all remember what the economy was like when I was elected. A country in a pandemic with no real plans how to get out of it. Millions of people out of their jobs, families in cars, remember? Backed up for literally miles, waiting for a box of food to be put in their trunk. Just a box of food to be put in their trunk because they didn’t have enough to eat.
(23:31)
Previous administration lost more jobs in its watch than any administration since Herbert Hoover. That’s a fact. All based on failed trickle down economics that benefit the wealthiest Americans, and hit the middle class and working people the hardest. But we came in with a fundamentally different economic vision. An economy that grows from the bottom up and the middle out is good for everyone because when the middle class does well, the poor have a ladder up and the wealthy still do very well. And that’s why we designed the American Rescue Plan based on the belief that a recovery should help all Americans prosper. A belief that working, building power and unions are good for workers and for the economy, a plan that led to the most jobs created in the first period of a presidency than any time, and over… In all American history. Now we’ve seen in the past how economic crisis can leave so many Americans in tough straits for years, sometimes for the rest of their lives. Economists call it the scarring effect. A lasting bad effects of economic hardship, including folks unemployed for a long time. Remember when we started this, a lot of people were equally as qualified, but they’d been an unemployed for 8, 10, 12 months. They wouldn’t even be considered. Two people put in an application. The person may be more qualified, been employed… Out of work for longer. It’s called the scarring effect. People not able to get back to work, period. But we changed that. And young people who have faced a weak labor market, they’re back. Losing a big part of your income late in life, that’s a scar though that doesn’t heal well. Not this time. Long term unemployment, youth unemployment dropped at a record pace. With today’s actions, millions of workers will have the dignified retirement they earned and they deserve. And folks, let’s be honest.