[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13820]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                CELEBRATING ORGANIZED LABOR FOR AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 4 minutes.
  Ms. BERKLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in tribute to America's 
working men and women. I come from a working family. I come from a 
union family. I know what it is like to worry whether one's paycheck is 
going to stretch to the next one. I know what it is like to be laid 
off.
  I strongly support organized labor because my father was able to put 
a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, a good car in our garage, 
food on our table, and two daughters through college and law school 
because of the union wages he earned in Las Vegas.
  Madam Speaker, 37 years ago my family arrived in Las Vegas with all 
of our possessions in a U-Haul hooked up to the back of the car. My dad 
joined the culinary union and landed a job as a waiter at the old Sands 
Hotel on the Las Vegas strip. That union job was the greatest break my 
family ever received. It opened the doors to opportunity for all of us.
  I am the first person in my family to go to college. I worked my way 
through college and law school. I waitressed at the Sands Hotel, ran 
keno at the Desert Inn, and cocktail waitressed at the Hacienda, the 
Aladdin and Holiday Casino, all on the Las Vegas strip. Each of these 
union jobs contributed to my ability to put myself through college and 
law school.
  Let me tell my colleagues, I am just one of hundreds of thousands of 
fellow Nevadans who have benefited from the positive influence of 
organized labor in my town. Almost without exception, the major 
employers of the thriving resort industry in Las Vegas have recognized 
that their industry and the entire city has grown strong because of 
good wages and good working conditions that good labor contracts have 
created. The prosperity of Las Vegas, built by the strong minds and 
backs of working men and women, can serve as a model for other parts of 
the country.
  First and foremost, trade unions build strong families. America needs 
families earning a decent living, wages good enough to afford that 
home, that car, and an education for their children. That is how we 
grow the American economy.
  Madam Speaker, I want our workers to have jobs free from the threats 
of raids on our family leave and our medical leave, free from raids on 
Social Security and Medicare, and free from raids on the right of every 
worker to collective bargaining. This country is better off for a 5-day 
work week, overtime pay, paid holidays and vacations, health insurance, 
child labor laws, and a minimum wage, all won by organized labor. 
Organized labor is vital to the well-being of our country, our 
families, and our communities. It makes a positive difference for all 
of us, and that is why, that is why I join in this week's celebration 
of organized labor.

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