A Labor Day Message From Governor Eliot Spitzer
Statement
A LABOR DAY MESSAGE FROM GOVERNOR ELIOT SPITZER
Labor Day Weekend: Most of us just consider it a long weekend that marks the end of summer. However, it has a much deeper meaning. Labor Day was first celebrated in New York City in 1882 as a day to honor work, working people and the union movement. Indeed, this long weekend we celebrate the hard work of all working people.
As we celebrate Labor Day, we should give thanks to those courageous labor leaders who strived to improve working conditions and create fair labor laws. These labor leaders brought dignity to the workplace, integrity to our society and helped create the strongest middle class the world has ever seen. Millions of New Yorkers have enjoyed higher wages, better benefits, and more secure jobs thanks to New York's labor unions.
But today the middle class is shrinking and the gap between the wealthy and poor is widening. At the same time the percentage of the workforce in unions, who have solid middle class wages and full benefits, is shrinking too. We must do more to ensure economic security for all New Yorkers. Our goal must be to close the wealth gap - not by bringing the wealthy down, but by bringing those lower on the economic ladder up, and by protecting those middle class New Yorkers who are in danger of falling.
We must make sure that when government spends taxpayer dollars, be it for procurement, tax credits, grants or economic development incentives, those dollars help support good jobs for New Yorkers, jobs that allow people to enter or stay in the middle class. We must also do more to improve the skills of our workforce, not only those entering for the first time but our existing workforce as well. Only then will New Yorkers get the jobs they need to move into real economic security, and businesses get the skilled workers they need to compete in our global economy.
Labor Day is the time to celebrate the gains workers have made in the last century and the role of labor unions in achieving those gains. It is also a time to remind us of the challenges we are facing and to renew our commitment to the working families of New York.
I wish you and your families a safe and happy holiday weekend.
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