Laboring for Labor

'We are proud to wear the pro-family, pro-worker, pro-union label,' U.S. Labor Sec. Alexis Herman tells AFSCME.

Much has been accomplished since Alexis Herman became secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, but, she told the Convention, there are still challenges facing her and the workers she speaks for.

“When the governor [John Engler (R)] moved to privatize the state of Michigan, I moved immediately to cut off funds to the state,” she said, pledging to keep public employees at the U.S. Employment Service.

With congressional plans afoot to weaken OSHA, Herman told delegates, “We have to make sure that we keep workers safe today. No worker should have to sacrifice their life for their livelihood.”

MAKING WORK PAY. “Too many Americans are getting left behind. Prosperity that is not broadly shared is false prosperity,” said Herman. She called for support of a minimum wage increase, saying, “Justice means that if you work full time you shouldn’t live in poverty.” She also called for equal pay for equal work as a means of closing the continuing wage gap between men’s and women’s earnings.

Herman stressed the importance of the right to organize, “No worker in this country should ever be forced to choose between their union and their job,” she said. “That is un-American. Unions, in fact, raise pay. Unions increase benefits. Unions help keep workers safe.

“We are proud to wear the pro-family, pro-worker, pro-union label.”

By Susan Ellen Holleran