English subtitles for clip: File:2016-09-03 President Obama's Weekly Address.webm
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1 00:00:10,210 --> 00:00:11,311 The President: Hi everybody. 2 00:00:11,311 --> 00:00:14,214 Before you fire up the barbecue for the long 3 00:00:14,214 --> 00:00:16,850 weekend, I want to talk a little bit about the reason 4 00:00:16,850 --> 00:00:20,120 we get to celebrate Labor Day - and that's the labor 5 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:22,422 movement that helped build this country and our 6 00:00:22,422 --> 00:00:24,124 middle class. 7 00:00:24,124 --> 00:00:27,259 For generations, every time the economy changed, 8 00:00:27,260 --> 00:00:30,230 hardworking Americans marched and organized and 9 00:00:30,230 --> 00:00:33,600 joined unions to demand not simply a bigger paycheck for 10 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,536 themselves, but better conditions and more security 11 00:00:36,536 --> 00:00:40,6 for the folks working next to them, too. 12 00:00:40,6 --> 00:00:42,175 Their efforts are why we can enjoy things like the 13 00:00:42,175 --> 00:00:46,646 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, and a minimum wage. 14 00:00:46,646 --> 00:00:49,215 Their efforts are why we can depend on health insurance, 15 00:00:49,215 --> 00:00:53,153 Social Security, Medicare, and retirement plans. 16 00:00:53,153 --> 00:00:57,357 All of that progress is stamped with the union label. 17 00:00:57,357 --> 00:01:00,560 All of that progress was fueled with a simple belief: 18 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:02,595 that our economy works better when it works 19 00:01:02,595 --> 00:01:04,364 for everybody. 20 00:01:04,364 --> 00:01:06,366 That's the spirit that's made the progress of these 21 00:01:06,366 --> 00:01:08,368 past seven and a half years possible. 22 00:01:08,368 --> 00:01:10,970 We've rescued our economy from another depression, cut 23 00:01:10,970 --> 00:01:13,573 our unemployment rate in half, and unleashed the 24 00:01:13,573 --> 00:01:17,142 longest string total job growth on record. 25 00:01:17,143 --> 00:01:19,512 And we've focused on making sure that the gains of a 26 00:01:19,512 --> 00:01:22,515 growing economy don't just flow to a few at the top, 27 00:01:22,515 --> 00:01:24,350 but to everybody. 28 00:01:24,350 --> 00:01:26,485 It's why we took action to help millions of workers 29 00:01:26,486 --> 00:01:29,789 finally collect the overtime pay they've earned. 30 00:01:29,789 --> 00:01:32,892 It's why I issued a call to raise the minimum wage, and 31 00:01:32,892 --> 00:01:35,961 when Congress ignored that call, 18 states and the 32 00:01:35,962 --> 00:01:38,898 District of Columbia, plus another 51 cities and 33 00:01:38,898 --> 00:01:43,2 counties went ahead and gave their workers a raise. 34 00:01:43,2 --> 00:01:45,304 It's why the very first bill I signed was the Lilly 35 00:01:45,305 --> 00:01:49,342 Ledbetter Fair Pay Act; why we gave paid sick days to 36 00:01:49,342 --> 00:01:52,911 federal contractors; why we've fought for worker 37 00:01:52,912 --> 00:01:55,915 safety and the right to organize. 38 00:01:55,915 --> 00:01:57,951 And we've made good progress. 39 00:01:57,951 --> 00:02:00,619 For a few years after the recession, the top one 40 00:02:00,620 --> 00:02:04,324 percent did capture almost all income gains. 41 00:02:04,324 --> 00:02:07,494 But that share has been cut by almost half. 42 00:02:07,494 --> 00:02:10,263 Last year, income for everybody else grew at the 43 00:02:10,263 --> 00:02:11,564 fastest pace since the 1990s. 44 00:02:11,564 --> 00:02:15,501 And another 20 million Americans know the financial 45 00:02:15,502 --> 00:02:18,638 security of health insurance. 46 00:02:18,638 --> 00:02:20,707 I'll be the first to say we've got more work to do in 47 00:02:20,707 --> 00:02:21,708 the years ahead. 48 00:02:21,708 --> 00:02:24,177 Now, I know we're in the heat of a more raucous 49 00:02:24,177 --> 00:02:25,378 political season than usual. 50 00:02:25,378 --> 00:02:28,347 But we can't get so distracted by the latest 51 00:02:28,348 --> 00:02:31,451 bluster that we lose sight of the policies that will 52 00:02:31,451 --> 00:02:33,453 actually help working families get ahead. 53 00:02:33,453 --> 00:02:37,257 Because the truth is, that's what's caused some of the 54 00:02:37,257 --> 00:02:39,893 frustration that's roiling our politics right now - too 55 00:02:39,893 --> 00:02:42,896 many working folks still feel left behind by an 56 00:02:42,896 --> 00:02:45,64 economy that's constantly changing. 57 00:02:45,64 --> 00:02:47,299 So as a country, we've got some choices to make. 58 00:02:47,300 --> 00:02:49,469 Do we want to be a country where the typical woman 59 00:02:49,469 --> 00:02:52,505 working full-time earns 79 cents for every dollar a man 60 00:02:52,505 --> 00:02:56,309 makes - or one where they earn equal pay for equal work? 61 00:02:56,309 --> 00:02:59,779 Do we want a future where inequality rises as union 62 00:02:59,779 --> 00:03:02,815 membership keeps falling - or one where wages are 63 00:03:02,815 --> 00:03:05,317 rising for everybody and workers have a say in 64 00:03:05,318 --> 00:03:07,120 their prospects? 65 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,589 Are we a people who just talk about family values 66 00:03:09,589 --> 00:03:11,591 while remaining the only developed nation that 67 00:03:11,591 --> 00:03:14,861 doesn't offer its workers paid maternity leave - or 68 00:03:14,861 --> 00:03:17,429 are we a people who actually value families, and make 69 00:03:17,430 --> 00:03:19,866 paid family leave an economic priority for 70 00:03:19,866 --> 00:03:22,168 working parents? 71 00:03:22,168 --> 00:03:24,304 These are the kinds of choices in front of us. 72 00:03:24,304 --> 00:03:27,473 And if we're going to restore the sense that hard 73 00:03:27,473 --> 00:03:30,677 work is rewarded with a fair shot to get ahead, we're 74 00:03:30,677 --> 00:03:32,845 going to have to follow the lead of all those who came 75 00:03:32,845 --> 00:03:34,113 before us. 76 00:03:34,113 --> 00:03:37,383 That means standing up not just for ourselves, but for 77 00:03:37,383 --> 00:03:40,720 the father clocking into the plant, the sales clerk 78 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:43,456 working long and unpredictable hours, or the 79 00:03:43,456 --> 00:03:46,459 mother riding the bus to work across town, even on 80 00:03:46,459 --> 00:03:50,663 Labor Day - folks who work as hard as we do. 81 00:03:50,663 --> 00:03:53,733 And it means exercising our rights to speak up in the 82 00:03:53,733 --> 00:03:57,670 workplace, to join a union, and above all, to vote. 83 00:03:57,670 --> 00:03:59,672 That's the legacy we celebrate on Labor Day. 84 00:03:59,672 --> 00:04:02,942 And I'm confident that that's the legacy that we'll 85 00:04:02,942 --> 00:04:05,478 build upon in the years ahead. 86 00:04:05,478 --> 00:04:06,479 Thanks everybody. 87 00:04:06,479 --> 00:04:07,513 Happy Labor Day. 88 00:04:07,513 --> 00:04:09,682 Enjoy the long weekend.