[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 22, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             PROUD AND STRONG SUPPORTER OF ORGANIZED LABOR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my distinguished 
colleague, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior) for his leadership 
on labor issues on behalf of working families throughout this country, 
and I would like to commend my friends at the AFL-CIO for organizing 
the seven days in June activities. This week there are over 110 
organized labor rallies taking place across the Nation as a result of 
their hard work.
  Mr. Speaker, let me begin by saying loud and clear that I am a proud 
and strong supporter of organized labor in this country. I am proud to 
stand with the hard-working men and women who make up the labor 
movement in America. I am committed to fighting for a middle-class 
workforce where workers can comfortably support a family and not worry 
about losing their jobs, and I will continue to urge this Congress to 
fight not only for a minimum wage, but for a livable wage. I will 
continue to demand international trade agreements that create more 
American jobs, not lose them, and I will stand with my friends in the 
labor movement against any and all initiatives designed to compromise 
workers' safety, worker rights, or worker benefits.
  The history of the U.S. labor movement is a strong and proud one. 
Organized labor embodies what is best in our constitution, namely our 
First Amendment freedoms of speech and association. But the 
Constitution only protects these freedoms. It has been the courage and 
determination of working women and men that have been the engine of 
social progress throughout this century.
  The fact is nobody ever handed a working person the American dream. 
Job security, a living wage, the right to collective bargaining, these 
are things which were fought for. The benefits gained for the courage 
and blood of organized labor are now commonplace among most American 
workplaces. It is important to recognize that without the labor 
movement there would be no minimum wage, there would be no safety 
standards in the workplace, there would be no pensions or worker health 
plans. If it were not for organized labor, workers would have no 
rights, and that is a fact.
  Organized labor continues to push for real issues important to real 
working people, and I urge working people across this country to keep 
organizing and to keep advocating. We can never allow our country to 
become a society where a privileged few enjoy all the benefits of the 
many who work. We must continue to work together in the next century to 
advance our issues, to pass meaningful labor legislation, and to 
continue to move forward toward a society which reflects the principles 
of social and legal justice for all, but this will only happen through 
continued grassroots organization by dedicated working men and women.

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