Ok... That's It... Goin To Bed Now...

[WillyT]

Mods... this is a presidential speech that we all paid for, and should NOT be subject to copyright laws. At least... not yet.

THE PRESIDENT: You’ve got Republicans saying you’re the ones exploiting working families. Imagine that.

Now, the fact is, our economy is stronger when workers are getting paid good wages and good benefits. (Applause.) Our economy is stronger when we've got broad-based growth and broad-based prosperity. That’s what unions have always been about -- shared prosperity.

You know, I was on the plane flying over here, and Carl Levin was with me, and he showed me a speech that Harry Truman had given on Labor Day 63 years ago, right here in Detroit -- 63 years ago. And just to show that things haven't changed much, he talked about how Americans had voted in some folks into Congress who weren’t very friendly to labor. And he pointed out that some working folks and even some union members voted these folks in. And now they were learning their lesson. And he pointed out that -- and I'm quoting here -- “the gains of labor were not accomplished at the expense of the rest of the nation. Labor’s gains contributed to the nation’s general prosperity.” (Applause.)

What was true back in 1948 is true in 2011. When working families are doing well, when they're getting a decent wage and they're getting decent benefits, that means they're good customers for businesses. (Applause.) That means they can buy the cars that you build. (Applause.) That means that you can buy the food from the farmers. That means you can buy from Silicon Valley. You are creating prosperity when you share in prosperity. (Applause.)

So when I hear some of these folks trying to take collective bargaining rights away, trying to pass so-called “right to work” laws for private sector workers --

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE PRESIDENT: -- that really mean the right to work for less and less and less -- when I hear some of this talk I know this is not about economics. This is about politics.

And I want everybody here to know, as long as I’m in the White House I’m going to stand up for collective bargaining. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: That’s why we’ve reversed harmful decisions that were designed to undermine those rights. That's why we passed the Fair Pay Act to stop pay discrimination. (Applause.) That's why we appointed people who are actually fulfilling their responsibilities to make sure that the offices and factories and mines workers that clock in each day, that they're actually safe on the job.

And we’re going to keep at it. Because having a voice on the job and a chance to organize and a chance to negotiate for a fair day’s pay after a hard day’s work, that is the right of every man and woman in America -- not just the CEO in the corner office, but also the janitor who cleans that office after the CEO goes home. (Applause.) Everybody has got the same right. (Applause.)

And that’s true for public employees as well. Look, the recession had a terrible effect on state and local budgets -- we all understand that. Unions have recognized that; they’ve already made tough concessions. In the private sector, we live in a more competitive global economy -- so unions like the UAW understand that workers have to work with management to revamp business models, to innovate so we can sell our products around the world. We understand that the world is changing; unions understand that the world is changing. Unions understand they need to help drive the change, whether it’s on the factory floor, or in the classroom, or in the government office. (Applause.)

But what unions also know is that the values at the core of the union movement, those don’t change. Those are the values that have made this country great. (Applause.) That’s what the folks trying to undermine your rights don’t understand. When union workers agree to pay freezes and pay cuts -- they’re not doing it just to keep their jobs. They’re doing it so that their fellow workers -– their fellow Americans -- can keep their jobs. (Applause.)

When teachers agree to reforms in how schools are run at the same time as they’re digging into their pockets to buy school supplies for those kids, they do so because they believe every child can learn. (Applause.) They do it because they know something that those who seek to divide us don’t understand: We are all in this together. That’s why those crowds came out to support you in Madison and in Columbus. We are one nation. We are one people. We will rise and we will fall together. (Applause.)

Anyone who doesn’t believe it should come here to Detroit. It’s like the commercial says: This is a city that’s been to heck and back. (Applause.) And while there are still a lot of challenges here, I see a city that’s coming back. (Applause.)
You ask somebody here if times are tough, they’ll say, yeah, it’s tough, but we’re tougher. (Applause.) Look at what we’re doing to overcome. Look at what we’re doing to rebuild and reinvent and redefine what it means to live in this great city. Look at our parents who catch the first bus to work, and our students who stay up late to earn a degree. Look at our workers on the line at Hamtramck and Jefferson North who are building the best cars in the world. Look at our artists who are revamping our city, and our young people who are thinking up new ways to make a difference that we never dreamed of. Look how we look out for one another. (Applause.)

That’s why we chose Detroit as one of the cities that we’re helping revitalize in our “Strong Cities, Strong Communities” initiative. (Applause.) We’re teaming up with everybody -- mayors, local officials, you name it -- boosting economic development, rebuilding your communities the best way, which is a way that involves you. Because despite all that’s changed here, and all the work that lies ahead, this is still a city where men clocked into factories. This is the city that built the greatest middle class the world has ever known. (Applause.) This is the city where women rolled up their sleeves and helped build an arsenal for democracy to free the world. (Applause.) This is a city where the great American industry has come back to life and the industries of tomorrow are taking root. This is a city where people, brave and bold, courageous and clever, are dreaming up ways to prove the skeptics wrong and write the next proud chapter in our history. (Applause.)

That’s why I wanted to be here with you today. Because for every cynic and every naysayer running around talking about how our best days are behind us -- for everybody who keeps going around saying, “No, we can’t" --

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/05/obama-labor-day-speech_n_949536.html

:boring:

[gkhouston]

1. "the right to work for less and less and less"

And what does he imagine a national version of Georgia Work$ will be?

[bbgrunt]

2. nice words. Must be a campaign.

[southmost]

3. Texas is a great example of a right to work state

with plenty of minimum wage jobs and cheap labor that keep the majority of families living in poverty