President Joe Biden, who often says he's the most pro-union president in history, is heading to Philadelphia on Monday for the annual Tri-State Labor Day Parade.
The Democratic president is expected to speak about the importance of unions in the United States and how the economy is recovering from the crippling coronavirus pandemic.
Labor Day, a holiday honoring workers, comes as the U.S. has added jobs and more people have begun looking for work, the most since January, all news Biden is eager to highlight as he seeks reelection in 2024.
"As we head into Labor Day, we ought to take a step back and take note of the fact that America is now in one of the strongest job-creating periods in our history," Biden said Friday from the Rose Garden, where he spoke after the news that America’s employers added 187,000 jobs in August, evidence of a slowing but still-resilient labor market despite the high interest rates the Federal Reserve has imposed.
Friday’s report from the Labor Department also showed that the unemployment rate rose from 3.5% to 3.8%, the highest level since February 2022 though still low by historical standards. But the rate rose for an encouraging reason: 736,000 people began looking for work last month, the most since January, and not all of them found jobs right away. Only people who are actively looking for a job are counted as unemployed.
Related Israel's prime minister pitches fiber optic cable idea to link Asia and the Middle East to Europe Still reeling from flooding, some in Vermont say something better must come out of losing everything 840,000 Afghans who've applied for key US resettlement program still in Afghanistan, report says
“People are coming off the sidelines, getting back to their workplaces,” Biden said.
Biden has used executive actions to promote worker organizing, has personally cheered unionization efforts at corporate giants like Amazon and has authorized federal funding to aid union members’ pensions. Just last week, the Biden administration proposed a new rule would make 3.6 million more U.S. workers eligible for overtime pay, the most generous such increase in decades.
Biden also has traveled the country, trumpeting how union labor is building bridges and improving train tunnels as part of the bipartisan $1.1 trillion public works package Congress passed in 2021.
“Unions raise standards across the workforce and industries, pushing up wages and strengthening benefits for everyone,” Biden said Friday. “You’ve heard me say many times: Wall Street didn’t build America. The middle class built America, and unions built the middle class.”
The Tri-State Labor Day Parade and Family Celebration is hosted by the Philadelphia AFL-CIO, whose website says it comprises more than 100 local labor unions representing more than 150,000 workers.
More about Biden AP Philadelphia Washington Unions People Democratic United States Federal Reserve Labor Department Congress Wall Street Amazon
1/ 1Biden heads to Philadelphia for a Labor Day parade and is expected to speak about unions' importance
Biden heads to Philadelphia for a Labor Day parade and is expected to speak about unions' importance Biden
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Promoted stories
Hair’s Rich
This "Japan's hair growth gel" is hot-selling at WatsonsHair’s Rich| Sponsored Sponsored
Learn More
Undo
investing.com
27+ Of The Most Inappropriate Dresses Worn To Red Carpet Events [Images]investing.com| Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
My Beauty Life
A woman in her 40s drank "Ceramide" and her skin became…My Beauty Life| Sponsored Sponsored
Undo
？ Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Subscribe
Already subscribed? Log in