REP LIEU HONORS WORKERS AND LABOR ACTIVISTS ON LABOR DAY
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement in honor of Labor Day, a federal holiday dedicated to honoring the American labor movement and workers across America.
“Happy Labor Day! On Labor Day and every day, we celebrate the countless contributions of America’s workers to the growth and success of our nation. America’s laborers have shaped our country into what it is today. On Labor Day, we also honor the leaders of the American labor movement, who courageously stood up against the exploitation of workers and demanded fair pay, better benefits, and safe working conditions for workers across America. These efforts have made our economy and our country stronger. As we acknowledge how far we’ve come, we must also acknowledge the work that is left to do to ensure ALL workers are treated fairly and stand up against efforts to suppress their voices.
“As a way to honor Labor Day, I like to highlight some of the leaders of the American labor movement and their various achievements.”
Frances Perkins
Frances Perkins served as Secretary of Labor during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency and was the first woman to ever hold a U.S. Cabinet position. After witnessing the horrific Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in 1911, where 146 workers, most of them young women, lost their lives trying to escape from a building with no fire escapes, she was moved to dedicate her life to keeping such a tragedy from ever happening again. After serving in numerous labor posts in the state of New York, she became U.S. Labor Secretary in 1933, where she worked with President Roosevelt to enact key social welfare laws as part of the New Deal. These included the Wagner Act, which gave workers the right to unionize and bargain collectively, and the Fair Labor Standards Act, which created for a minimum wage and a maximum workweek for men and women for the first time.
Sue Ko Lee
Sue Ko Lee was a Chinese American woman who worked in the National Dollar Store’s factory in San Francisco in the 1930s. After the Chinese Ladies Garment Workers Union Local 361 union was formed in 1938, the owner of the National Dollar Store immediately sold the company in an effort to break up the union. Lee and her fellow employees led a fifteen-week strike, which, at the time, was the longest strike in San Francisco’s Chinatown. After gaining solidarity from their white co-workers, the employees’ unified front eventually led to a negotiated contract that included higher salaries, benefits and better working conditions. Sue Ko Lee then went on to become a leader in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU).
Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta is one of the most influential labor activists of the 20th century and the co-founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW) of America. After witnessing the inhumane working conditions migrant farm workers faced during her childhood, she dedicated her life to fighting for them. Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chavez, which later became the UFW, the largest farm worker organization in America. Throughout her career, she accomplished a great deal for farm workers, including securing state-backed aid for dependent families, disability insurance for injured workers, and better wages and working conditions. Huerta helped organize the Delano Grape Strike in 1965 in California, and directed a national grape boycott that caused the entire table grape industry to change its practices. In 2012, President Obama awarded Huerta the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.