[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 91 (Thursday, May 12, 1994)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 24883-24884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-11794]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 12, 1994]


  
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Part VI





The President





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Proclamation 6688--
Labor History Month, 1994


                        Presidential Documents 


Federal Register
Vol. 59, No. 91
Thursday, May 12, 1994

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Title 3--
The President
                Proclamation 6688 of May 10, 1994

 
Labor History Month, 1994

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                For more than a century, the labor movement in the 
                United States has served as a major force for our 
                economic and social progress as a Nation.

                American trade unionists have fought for and achieved 
                benefits for all citizens. At the turn of the century, 
                the average worker made about ten dollars for a 60-hour 
                week, and more than 2 million children similarly worked 
                long hours for even less pay. Prior to the formation of 
                a national labor movement in 1881, safe working 
                conditions, regular hours, decent living wages, paid 
                holidays, and vacations were often mere dreams. 
                Emergency and family leave were almost unimaginable.

                The struggle of American workers against these 
                appalling circumstances transformed our Nation. 
                Disasters, like the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and 
                the 1991 Hamlet Poultry Fire, and triumphs, like the 
                Sanitation Workers struggle for dignity and union 
                representation in 1968, have played a significant role 
                in shaping American life. By studying labor history, we 
                find the foundations of work life in America--the 8-
                hour day, the 40-hour week, security in unemployment 
                and old age, protection for the sick and injured, equal 
                employment opportunity, protection for children, and 
                health and safety standards. In addition, labor history 
                shows that American workers were in the forefront of 
                the effort to make public education available for every 
                child.

                As an American, I am proud of the accomplishments of 
                our labor movement, through which we all enjoy better 
                lives. In issuing this proclamation to observe Labor 
                History Month, I recognize that our work for economic 
                and social progress in America is not over. As we 
                approach the 21st century, the next chapter of labor 
                history must be characterized by a strong voice for 
                America's workers. This will include establishing 
                partnerships of employers and workers, cooperating to 
                achieve safe, high-performance work environments, 
                improving the skills of American workers and the 
                competitiveness of American businesses, and enhancing 
                human dignity in the American workplace.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim the month of May 
                1994, as ``Labor History Month.'' I call upon the 
                people of the United States to observe this period with 
                appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen 
                hundred and ninety-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and 
                eighteenth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)>

[FR Doc. 94-11794
Filed 5-11-94; 10:53 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P