Barack Obama

“ Before you fire up the barbecue for the long weekend, I want to talk a little bit about the reason we get to celebrate Labor Day – and that’s the labor movement that helped build this country and our middle class. ”

“ For generations, every time the economy changed, hardworking Americans marched and organized and joined unions to demand not simply a bigger paycheck for themselves, but better conditions and more security for the folks working next to them, too. ”

“ Now, I know we’re in the heat of a more raucous political season than usual. But we can’t get so distracted by the latest bluster that we lose sight of the policies that will actually help working families get ahead. ”

“ It’s why we took action to help millions of workers finally collect the overtime pay they’ve earned. It’s why I issued a call to raise the minimum wage, and when Congress ignored that call, 18 states and the District of Columbia, plus another 51 cities and counties went ahead and gave their workers a raise. ”

“ For a few years after the recession, the top one percent did capture almost all income gains. But that share has been cut by almost half. Last year, income for everybody else grew at the fastest pace since the 1990s. And another 20 million Americans know the financial security of health insurance. ”

“ Their efforts are why we can enjoy things like the 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, and a minimum wage. Their efforts are why we can depend on health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, and retirement plans. ”