[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 171 (Thursday, September 4, 2014)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 52951-52952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21262]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 79 , No. 171 / Thursday, September 4, 2014 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 52951]]


                Proclamation 9161 of August 29, 2014

                
Labor Day, 2014

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On Labor Day, we honor the legacy of our working women 
                and men who have played a defining role in the American 
                story and all those who carry forward our Nation's 
                proud tradition of hard work, responsibility, and 
                sacrifice. From assembly lines to classrooms, across 
                highways and steel mills, American workers strengthen 
                the foundation of our country and demonstrate that our 
                economy grows best from the middle out.

                For generations, working Americans have fought to build 
                a better life for their families and a better future 
                for their country. United in the cause of dignity and 
                justice in the workplace, they organized for the 
                workplace protections that have helped build the 
                largest and most prosperous economy in the world, 
                including the 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, and safe 
                working conditions. Each hard-won victory, from laws 
                establishing collective bargaining to those 
                guaranteeing a minimum wage, has helped raise standards 
                of living for people across our Nation and provided 
                them with opportunities to climb the ladder of success.

                In the same spirit of strength and resilience, 
                Americans today have battled back from a financial 
                crisis, a weakening economic foundation, and the worst 
                recession of our lifetimes. We have brought 
                manufacturing jobs back to America, invested in skills 
                and education, and begun to lay the groundwork for 
                stronger, more durable economic growth.

                But we still have more work left to do to reverse the 
                forces that have conspired against working Americans 
                for decades. As we seek to strengthen our economy and 
                our middle class, we must secure a better bargain for 
                all--one where everyone who works hard in America has a 
                chance to get ahead. I am committed to boosting 
                economic mobility by empowering our workers and making 
                sure an honest day's work is rewarded with an honest 
                day's pay. My Administration is fighting for a fair 
                minimum wage for every employee because nobody who 
                works full-time should ever have to raise a family in 
                poverty. We must also eliminate pay discrimination so 
                women receive equal pay for equal work, combat unfair 
                labor practices, and continue to defend the collective 
                bargaining rights our parents and grandparents fought 
                so hard for.

                As we celebrate Labor Day, we reflect on the efforts of 
                those who came before us to increase opportunity, 
                expand the middle class, and build security for our 
                families, and we rededicate ourselves to moving forward 
                with this work in our time. We stand united behind our 
                great American workforce as we lay the path for 
                economic growth and prosperity.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 September 1, 2014, as 
                Labor Day. I call upon all public officials and people 
                of the United States to observe this day with 
                appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that 
                honor the contributions and resilience of working 
                Americans.

[[Page 52952]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
                ninth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2014-21262
Filed 9-3-14; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F4