Remarks by Vice President Harris at the Annual Larger Boston Labor Council Breakfast

Boston Park Plaza Hotel
Boston, Massachusetts

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Fantastic early morning.  (Applause.)  Excellent early morning.  Oh, it is constantly fantastic to be in the household of labor.  Excellent morning, great morning, excellent morning. 
 
I reported to Darlene, you actually packed the household, person.  Seem at this.  Glimpse at this.  Delighted Labor Day, all people.  Satisfied Labor Working day.  (Applause.)
 
Darlene, I want to thank you since we have experienced some time to discuss about your management and the perform you have finished your complete doing work job.  And I just want to thank you for becoming these types of a devoted chief for the operating people of Boston and of America.  (Applause.)
 
And I want to thank the Greater Boston Labor Council, the Higher Boston Constructing Trades, all people here, all the staff who spoke this morning.  I want to thank you for your management and becoming this kind of a very clear and highly effective voice for the working men and women of America.  You are highly effective.  You are highly effective.  And we are effective alongside one another. 
 
You know, there’s so significantly about the thought of solidarity that is about knowing the importance of making absolutely sure no person ever has to battle by itself being familiar with the great importance of standing shoulder to shoulder, recognizing the electric power of the lots of to communicate with a crystal clear and unified voice around some of the most important challenges of the moment.
 
I want to understand my pal — I know your longstanding mate — Marty Walsh.  He’s not able to be here today simply because he’s with the President.  (Applause.)
 
Marty and I head up the Labor Council collectively, and I don’t want to tell you what a fighter he is — what an incredible fighter.  He is a champion for the working people of our nation.  So he requested me to convey to y’all “Hello, excellent morning.”  And so, I’m passing that on. 
 
So, for the new pals, you could not know, but I was elevated by parents who fulfilled while they were being protesting for civil legal rights.  And when I was a kid, they would just take me to the marches in a stroller.  And what that intended and what that has intended is that from the earliest phases of my life, I realized that when individuals stand with each other in solidarity, shoulder to shoulder, irrespective of whether at a protest or a picket line, it makes a distinction.  And it is strong.
 
And so, that knowledge has guided my complete vocation, and it guides our administration.  President Joe Biden and I are established to lead the most professional-union administration in America’s heritage.  (Applause.)  We are proud.  We are happy.  We are proud.
 
Since what we are celebrating today, on Labor Day, is what we all in this area know we rejoice every single day.  When union workers go to operate, they go to perform for the overall nation.  That implies the setting up trades workers and steelworkers who are encouraging us to rebuild our country.  It is our educators who inspire our little ones and form our upcoming.  It is our firefighters who put their life at danger to keep our communities safe and sound.  It is our health care staff and our household-treatment staff who go to work each and every working day to deliver healing and hope in the course of the best time of need to have for so many persons and who, these times, have to battle on the frontlines to shield obtain to reproductive health care.  And it is our hospitality employees who take treatment of us when we are absent from property.
 
Now, on picket lines, in union houses, and on occupation web sites in hospitals, educational institutions, and grocery shops, union staff struggle for improved wages and safer functioning situations.  You struggle to secure union pensions and the proper for all performing men and women to be ready to retire with dignity. 
 
And permit us be crystal clear, our complete country — our full country, whether or not they are a member of a union or not, gains from your do the job mainly because when union wages go up, everybody’s wages go up.  When union workplaces are safer, all workplaces are safer.  (Applause.)  When unions are robust — when unions are strong, The usa is solid.  (Applause.)
 
And, you know, as Vice President, I’ve had the event to chat instantly with at the very least 100 planet leaders — so in the very last yr and 50 percent — presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, and kings.  I was born in Oakland, California.  How about that?  (Laughter.)  And in those people conferences, I will convey to you, these heads of point out — they understand that a wonderful part of the achievements and prosperity of the United States is the result of your get the job done.  Since every day, workers fight to shift our place forward. 
 
And however, we need to identify: There are people who are preventing to drag us again.  In Congress, in statehouses across our country, extremist, so-referred to as leaders are preventing to flip again the clock to a time in advance of workers had the flexibility to manage to a time right before gals experienced the flexibility to make choices about their have bodies to a time right before all People experienced the independence to vote.
 
Nowadays in The usa, our communities are staying terrorized by gun violence.  And nonetheless these extremist, so-called leaders are battling to retain assault weapons on the shelves.  
 
Right now in The us, so quite a few doing the job people are struggling   to get by.  But as an alternative of standing with doing the job persons to lower the price of health care, education and learning, and childcare, these extremist, so-referred to as leaders prioritize breaks for major firms and the wealthiest 1 %. 
 
But together, we are combating again mainly because — (applause) — since we share a vision for our nation.  We see a foreseeable future in which each individual individual will have an option to be successful and to prosper no make any difference wherever they were being born, what they search like.  And so, with your assist we are building that foreseeable future.  (Applause.)
 
So I’ll inform you a little bit about what we have been up to with your support and simply because of you. 
 
Since our administration took place of work, our nation has produced practically 10 million employment, extra than producing up for every job lost for the duration of the pandemic.  (Applause.)
 
In our first calendar year in office, we extended the Baby Tax Credit rating and minimize boy or girl poverty in The us by 40 percent.  (Applause.)
 
We also handed a tax minimize not for businesses, but for mom and dad, to give them up — (applause) — to give dad and mom up to $8,000 for the value of elevating a little one — the charge of medicine, meals, school materials — putting additional dollars in their pocket to enable them do what any civilized nation would do, which is to assistance performing mom and dad, comprehension it is an expense in our collective long run.  (Applause.)
 
As a result of our White Home Labor Endeavor Power, which Marty and I have been jogging together, we have torn down limitations to arranging. 
 
This year our administration did the prolonged-overdue — and we’re quite happy of this — the extended-overdue work to guard pension strategies for thousands and thousands of union personnel.  (Applause.) 
 
For the reason that of your assist, our administration produced the biggest investment in a generation in our nation’s infrastructure.  Quite a few promised it before we did it.  (Applause.)  
 
And not only did we do it, we did it with potent labor protections, like Davis-Bacon benchmarks — (applause) — to spend the prevailing wage.
 
“Why?” some may well request.  Nicely, it is basic: So that we can build hundreds of thousands of fantastic-paying, fantastic union careers throughout our country.
 
And we are crystal clear: To rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, we have to have you.  We need to have plumbers and pipefitters in Malden and Chelsea — (applause) — to switch guide pipes in educational facilities and properties to enable us replace every single lead pipe inside of 10 many years, which is our goal.  (Applause.)
 
We have to have electrical employees in Northampton and Essex to lay the fiber optic lines that will carry higher-velocity Internet to each individual domestic in The united states.
 
All through the peak of the pandemic, it grew to become very clear — you want to converse about the inequities in the process?  When dad and mom who did not have entry or could not afford to pay for substantial-pace Web, what that intended for their little ones and lost treasured times of education, not to point out our seniors who usually could have benefited from telemedicine.
 
We have to have the hardworking customers of Boston’s constructing trades to create new bus lanes and sidewalks in Roxbury and to make — (applause) — and to make — and to make updates at Logan.  (Laughter and applause.) 
 
And because of your assist, our administration is lowering the charge of dwelling for working people.
 
Just previous month, we signed a regulation — our President signed a legislation that will cap the expense of insulin for seniors at $35 a thirty day period.  (Applause.)  And the final numbers I noticed convey to me that just one in a few of our seniors has diabetic issues.  This is no small make a difference.
 
Simply because the President signed it into regulation, we’re going to lower health and fitness insurance coverage premiums for 13 million Us citizens an typical of $800 a year — (applause) — and decreased prescription drug price ranges for men and women on Medicare.
 
And on that level, you know, for years — and I saw this when I was legal professional basic of California — Maura Healey has been executing amazing do the job.  (Applause.)  So, for decades, the major drug corporations have made billions of pounds in profits selling medications for 10 to 100 times what it fees to make.  The healthcare staff in the viewers — I know you know what I’m speaking about.  (Applause.)
 
So, for yrs, Massive Pharma has attempted to expand their earnings by preventing Medicare from negotiating for reduce drug costs.  For yrs, so-named leaders in Washington, D.C., supported this injustice.  And for years, they received absent with it.
 
But we claimed, “Enough.”  So, last thirty day period — (applause) — last month, our administration, because of your assistance, gave Medicare the electric power to negotiate on behalf of more than 60 million people today.  (Applause.)  That is the electrical power of collective bargaining.
 
So — so, mates, here’s the detail: To build a foreseeable future where doing work persons can get in advance and continue to be forward, we’ve acquired to do a large amount, including the cost of healthcare, which includes misplaced of — bringing down electrical power payments.  In truth, we gave functioning households as substantially as an $8,000 upgra- — a credit history for — to enhance their HVAC method in their residence, and which is going to be about decreased electricity costs and cleaner air and more work opportunities for some of the individuals in this space.
 
But here’s the factor: All of this perform that we’ve been doing on behalf of working individuals, the critics — who have not been stepping up to help performing persons — would like to throw out all these red herrings, these interruptions and talk about how are we heading to fork out for it.
 
Nicely, allow me tell you, if any one asks you how we’re likely to fork out for all of this, do permit them know: As promised, we will not raise taxes on any individual generating a lot less than $400,000 a year, but this will be paid for.  Due to the fact, you see, ultimately, our nation’s biggest corporations will now be expected to shell out their truthful share.  (Applause.)  It’ll be paid for.  It’ll be compensated for.  (Applause.)
 
And one particular additional point: Do take note that in our fight to construct a greater long run, not a one Republican in Congress stood with us to lessen child poverty, to minimize taxes for functioning folks, or lower the price of healthcare.  Not one particular.
 
So, here’s my past place: The midterms are in 64 days.  And we know what we are up in opposition to, and we know what we stand for.  And I believe that when you know what you stand for, you know what to battle for.  (Applause.)
 
So, on this Labor Day and each and every working day, we will proceed to struggle for operating folks.  We will battle for the energy of our country, comprehending the link.  And we will struggle, knowing — and Boston understands this — when we combat, we win.  (Applause.)  And so, we struggle figuring out there is additional function to be carried out.
 
And so, allow me just also mention, simply because I just made the decision to write this down — so, we battle in battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin, in Ga and North Carolina and Nevada and Arizona and Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Ohio.  Those are just some.  That’s exactly where we battle.
 
We journey to do the get the job done of reminding folks that when they stood in those strains for four several hours, when they experienced to find childcare to drop off their ballot, when they navigated the obstructions that sure states are putting up for them to have obtain to the vote, when they set in their buy in 2020 for what they wished, we gave them most of what they requested for, but we need to see it as a result of.
 
Let us remind folks, mainly because each individual 12 months — we have all done this, most of us for our total lives — around election time, folks are likely to say, “Why need to I vote?”  So we know, simply because that is a righteous question.
 
Let’s remind them, commencing now, that when they did that in 2020, these are the matters they acquired and that elections subject.  Let’s not enable — (applause) — let’s not enable extremist, so-termed leaders transform back the clock.
 
We know what is at stake.  We know what we stand for.  We know when we fight, we gain.  We love our country so deeply — (applause) — and all of this is well worth it.
 
So, I thank you, Boston, for all that you do.  God bless you.  And God bless The usa.  (Applause.)
 
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