Transcript of Joe Biden speaking in Philadelphia about his administration's support for unions

Not only we owe you the pension, we owe you a lot more than that. The reason this country is working, because the middle class is growing. Middle class built this country, and unions built the middle class. Look, it's always great to be working with men and women in the great union movement. Wayne Miller of the Sprinkler Fitters, his local 692, who I thank for hosting us today. Wayne, my staff says you even fed them. I don't know, I'm not worried about getting home. And Wendell Young, UFC, 76. And Bill Hallenden, President of Pennsylvania Conference of Dignity. I also want to thank the great champions of working people here. Brandon Boyle, the hell of a guy, man. No. And Mary Gaye Scanlin. I tell you, I think I heard her reputation because you know what? I found out, once she began like the President, I'm the second Catholic ever elected. When I headed to Ireland, they did all this background stuff on me, where I'm from. It turns out, I showed her today, I got it in writing, we're related. I tell you what. And Madeleine Dean. Where are you, Madeleine? And Donald Norcross. Our acting Secretary of Labor, Julie Sue, is doing an incredible job.

And the guy, if you're in trouble, you're in a foxhole, man, you want him with you. That guy right there, what's his name? Bobby. Bobby, good to see you. You're great. I'm serious. He's always there. Look, another simple truth, as I said. Wall Street... Please, if you have seats, take them. Look, I'm not joking around when I say that we talk... I come from Delaware. I represented Delaware for 36 years in the United States Senate. And by the way, for 36 years, each year, they list the poorest man in Congress. Oh, I'm not joking. Thirty-six years, I was in House and Senate, the poorest man in Congress. Never thought myself poor, but I guess came from a typical middle-class family. They were breaking your neck. My dad used to have an expression, Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. A job is about your dignity. It's about respect. It's about being treated with respect. It's about being able to look people in the eye. To be able to look your kid in the eye and say, Honey, it's going to be okay, and know it's real. That's what this is all about, man.

I'm so sick and tired, sick and tired of the corporate notion of that if all of the corporations do well, we all do well. I want corporations to do well as long as their employees do well. But man, the way it's working now and the way it's been working, not been working so well. Look, so I mean what I say. Wall Street did not build this country. They're not bad guys. They're just a little greedy sometimes, but they're not bad guys. But middle class built the country. And it's not a joke. You guys built the middle class for real. There would be no middle class. Look, just since I've been elected, I'm proud to be listed as the most pro-union President of the American Industry. The middle class is growing. The middle class is growing. They're the best economy in the world right now because we're here. Thank you, John Dean and John Pliskill, both John, for the introduction. And most of all, thanks for sharing your stories. Look, think about what they just described. You all understand it well, but the folks maybe listen, don't quite understand as much. It's a story so many union workers could tell about working for decades to raise a family.

I was working for decades. I remember my dad lost a pension. We lived in a three bedroom house, split level home down in Wilmington, Delaware, in a suburban area of Wilmington, and they're building like 40 forms of homes, the same kinds of homes. They were a decent home, but we had four kids living there and a grandpa. And I remember how restless my dad was one night because my wall, my bedroom was up against his when me and my two brothers were in that room. And I asked mom next morning, I said, What's the matter? He said, But, Dad, he just lost his pension. Just lost his pension. Look, putting money away from paycheck to paycheck for dignified retirement, knowing that when the time comes, that you've earned will be there. It's critical just for peace of mind. It has phenomenal impacts on how marriages work and how families hold together when you have that knowledge because there's so much pressure. But then you retire and find out all those years of work and sacrifice were slashed through no fault of your own. None. Imagine what that does financially, emotionally, and to your dignity. It's wrong.

It's just simply wrong. It's It should have never happened. Never. And then think about what it means to be made whole again, to have your lives, your pension restored. Not only that, don't worry about it, but about what you're going to be able to do. It matters. It matters. Four years ago, Kammerlin and I inherited a pandemic that was raging and the economy was reeling. So we went to work right away. We enacted the American Rescue Plan to do a lot more than this pension for the most significant economic relief package in history in America, delivered immediate relief to folks that need it most. But not a single... This is what's changed. I know I'm going to look like I'm 40, but I'm a little older. But all kidding aside, we used to have real differences in the Senate. But at least one of the critical things, we ended up getting together. But not anymore. This is a different deal we're working with. Not a single solitary Republican in the House or the Senate, not one voted to help with the pensions. Not one single one. No, no. It's not so much about... It's the way things have gotten.

It's like you either vote the right way if one guy wants it or you're in trouble. It's wrong. It's not who the hell we are. I believe a lot of those Republicans who voted no thought it was wrong, but they're afraid to vote the right way. It's part of the American rescue plan, Amal and I work like hell to include the Butts-Lewis Act. To protect the pension of millions of union workers and retirees from Pennsylvania, throughout Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, all across America. Simply put, the Butts-Lewis Act is the most significant investment in pension security for union workers and retirees in over 50 years. And I might add, it's not enough. We got to do a hell of a lot more, but I'll get to that in a moment. Again, every guy in the other team voted against it, every single one. Think about that. Before the Butch-Lewis Act became the law of the land, Union workers and retirees faced cuts of up to 70 % or more of the retirement benefits through no fault or none. But now, because of what Kamalai did in Congress, and folks like Brandon Boyle and others because of the labor leaders over here, because of many of you, pensions of a million of union workers and retirees are protected.

Food warehouse workers, truck drivers, scores of others don't worry anymore about the benefits being cut, because now they know, because of what we've done, they'll receive the full amount of their pensions they've worked hard for, and they'll receive it for decades to come. Folks, look, for all those retirees whose benefits are already cut, as you heard today, and many of you hopefully benefited as well, we made hole in. All you lost will be made up. And those are the benefits restored and restored retroactively. But folks, that's what I call a pretty big deal. Folks, folks. So I came to North Philly today to announce the major progress we made in implementing the Bush-Lewis Act. But this morning, the US Department of Labor released a report which shows that since we passed the law on March of 2021, we've already protected the pension of over 1.2 million workers and retirees. That includes over 65,000 workers and retirees across Pennsylvania alone. For retirees who benefits were cut or at risk of being cut, we paid them back more than $1.6 billion dollars so far. That's about 13,600 already paid back in the pockets of each retiree and some are even more.

It's a game-changer. Today, I'm also announcing 684 million from the Butts-Lewis Act to restore pensions for additional 29,000 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

You heard it.

Don't thank me. Thank you. You shouldn't have to thank anybody. You shouldn't have to thank anybody. Look, there are nearly 11,000 workers and retirees living right here in Pennsylvania. For years and years, you've been working on driving trucks from factories to stores, bagging your groceries, constructing your buildings, your bridges, your roads. We need to do so much more. They're ironworkers, bricklayers, carpenters, laborers, plumbers, truck drivers, food workers, and more. These workers are working hard today. They deserve a secure retirement they've earned for the rest of their lives. Folks, look, we're just getting started. By the way, that little big bill we passed for dealing with infrastructure, a trillion, 300 billion dollars. That's what that bill is. Remember the last guy when he was present? He He said, We're going to have... We have retired. Every week, we're going to have Infrastructure Week. Never been into a damn thing. But you know, too many of them faced painful cuts to the benefits they worked so hard and counted on. Some of you losing 40, 50, 70 % up to your pensions through your no fault of your own. That's why the Louis Act is so important to pass in the first place.

And when it comes to office, and when it came When I came to office, I was determined to restore guaranteed pensions that were earned and paid into. I was also determined to fundamentally transform the way the economy works for everyone. I got so sick and tired of the trickle-down economics. Remember that's how it worked? The rich that they do well, they'll pay their taxes, and they'll trickle down with all benefit. Well, not a hell, hell lot of trickle-down on my father's kitchen table. No, I'm not joking. I'm dead earnest here. To grow the economy, I decided to change the way we did it. And there's no reason why you wouldn't notice, but all the international economic publications are talking about it now. I decided we're going to grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up. When the middle class does well, everybody does well. The wealthy do well. Put workers first. Support unions, invest in all Americans, all Americans. When we do these things, we do well. That's what we're seeing. 16 million And new jobs created just so far. The greatest job creation record of any single presidential term in American history.

1.6 million manufacturing and construction jobs. And where is it written in America, Can't lead the world in manufacturing? I got so thick and tired of hearing that. We can't. Come on, man. No, I'm serious. Think about it. We have the best workers in the world. That's not hyperbole. That's a fact. When I decided to bring back the chips in the industry back, we invented that little chip that goes on all those computers. We invented it. We used to have 40 % of the market. We got down to 4 % of the market. Well, guess what? I told my staff, even they thought I was crazy. I said, I'm going to South Korea. I'm going to sit down with them and make sure that they start How did we start making this stuff home. So that was Samsung. They invested $15 billion coming back to the United States to build those chips here and build those factories here. But over 60 billion more is being made here, and they're just getting started. We're just getting started. These FABs, they call them. They're the biggest football fields. These Fabs, you know what the average salary is? $110,000 a year, and you don't need a college degree.

We're just getting started. This past week, we did get very encouraging news about the economy. Inflation continues to drop. Remember, they said, Biden going to get elected, going to be a recession. Give me a friggin break. We got it back down from close to 9 % down to nearly 2 %, which means people have more money in their Park is now than it did before the pandemic, and we're continuing to see economic growth. Today, union workers are modernizing American infrastructure, roads, bridges, airports, ports, clean water, affordable high-speed Internet for every Pennsylvania. Not some, every. And thanks to the Bipartite Infrastructure Law, Pennsylvania has received $18 billion so far for 2000 projects. So far. And that includes a billion dollars for the city of Philadelphia in a few months since Mayor Parker's been in office. They've already got a billion dollars to it. Look, folks. I signed an executive order to make sure large federal construction projects use project labor agreements. In a negotiation. Not a joke. Negotiated between union and companies before the construction began, because we make sure construction is top-notch on time and on budget. And by the way, employers are starting to figure it out.

Not a joke. I told you about Samsung when that guy said, Why are you coming to the United States? He said, Two reasons. One, you have the best workers in the world. I'm not a joke. Most qualified workers. I wish you and me would start talking about what it takes to become whatever you decide to be, whether anything from electrician to whatever. You have to do somewhere between four and five years of apprenticeship. It's like going back to school, man, like going to college. But people don't know it. People don't know it. We got to talk more about it. So if people aren't in Union to understand just how damn qualified you and how hard you work to get to where you are. You know, buy-American used to be the law of the land. By that, it is, look, the way it works, it's supposed to work. Back in the '30s, when they were trying to bust unions to prevent them from coming in to be in the first place. But they passed the law on the Roosevelt, which said that if you're going to form a union, you can't do the following things to try to break the union.

But there There's a provision in there that nobody paid attention to. It said, And when the President spends money given to him by the Congress to do something for the country, he has to use American products, and he has to use American workers. Nobody did it. No, not a joke. Well, every damn penny I've been sent by the United States Congress has been gone to use American product and American workers. Everyone, Not a joke. It's why we're growing so well. Federal projects helping build American roads, bridges, highways are now being made with American products built by American workers, creating good-paying American jobs. In fact, we're requiring those kinds of projects to pay Davis Bacon wages for every single family out there. Look, folks, many of those jobs don't require a college degree, but they... Look, in fact, we extended the Register Apprenticeship program. Remember when the corporation said, Don't worry, we'll take care of apprenticeships? Give me a break. So what did we do? We decided we were going to make sure they were available. The result being over a million apprentices since we've come to office. A million new apprentices have come to office.

Like I said, a lot of folks don't realize an apprenticeship is like earning a college degree. An apprenticeship you train for four or five years. There are some of the best in the world. Common and I have always believe that National Labor Relations Board should be pro-labor. But those who are involved in leading unions, you know what it's been on the last guy. Anti-labor people put on the labor relations board. Not anymore. Not anymore. That's why one of the most significant things we've done is appoint National Labor Relations Board members who actually believe in unions and believe in your right to organize. As I said, I'm honored to be considered the most pro-union President in American history, and I'm proud to be the first President to walk a picket line. Kamala is proud to have walked a picket line as well. The other guy who looks for picket lines to cross, but we've always had your back. We've always had your back. Well, look, I don't want to get going here. We owe you so much. I really mean it. The country owes you so much. Let me close with this. When I was I've been raised in Scranton, where my dad taught me something that always stuck with me.

And I mentioned to before that a job is a lot more than a paycheck. And it really is, think about it. Think about what it is. It's about your It's about how you're treated. It's about how people look at you, look up to you, not down at you. It's about your place in the community. It's about being able, as I said, to look your kid in the eye and say, Honey, it's going to be okay, and mean it. That's the value set I learned here in Pennsylvania. The value set to the core of the labor, at the core of the American labor market, union market. Movement made up of extraordinary people like you. And I'm not just trying to be nice, man. I'm not Brian again. You're stuck with me. And the one thing I don't think anybody can argue, as I never haven't done what I've said I'm going to do. So unlike someone we honor today, Butch Lewis, joining us today is his wife, Rita. Rita, where are you? Come on up here. Come on up here. Rita and Butcher are childhood sweethearts. Butch played baseball, drafted by the Pirates by the way out of high school.

Come over here for me. We'll walk over there. And he enlisted in the army instead. Special Forces, Army Ranger, serving in Vietnam, earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, came back home to Rita, settled in Cincinnati, became a teamster's trucker, and then President of his local, known as an animal honest, decent labor lead. That's who he was. Bush faced severe cuts in pensions and became a fierce advocate of protecting those pensions for fellow workers. He died almost nine years ago. And Rita, you've carried on his legacy ever since then. This is a woman who didn't stop. Together with Democrats in the Congress, the Bush-Lewis Act, I sign it in the law now protects pensions for millions of American workers, and it matters. Rita, can you please join me over here? Can you all hear this from here?

The Citizens Medal is given to citizens of the United States of America who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens. A fierce labor leader, Butch Lewis, helped to protect hard earned pensions of millions of Americans. He passed up a shot at professional baseball, instead serving our nation as a decorated army ranger in Vietnam. He spent 40 years as a trucker, teamster, and Union leader, fighting for the dignity of work and solidarity of workers across Ohio and the country. A man of humility and warmth, he inspired everyone around him, embodying the simple truth that the middle class built America and unions built the middle class.

My dad had another expression that he used to say, For real. Remember, Joey, family is the beginning, the middle, and the end. Thank you all for being loyal of one another, not forgetting where you come from, and sticking with those you need to help. Thank you, thank you, thank you.