SEIU’S HENRY: BIDEN’S LABOR TASK FORCE IMPORTANT TOOL TO UNRIG AMERICA’S ECONOMY

San Francisco (April 26, 2021) – Service Employees International Union (SEIU) International President Mary Kay Henry issued the following statement on President Biden’s announcement of a cabinet-level labor task force:

“Too many leaders have stood by while the rules that govern our economy were increasingly rigged in favor of billionaires and corporate CEOs, and against working people especially the Black and brown workers who have borne the brunt of the pandemic. Everyone must have the opportunity to join a union, no matter where they live or what kind of work they do. That is the best way to raise wages, improve working conditions, create good union jobs, and begin to build a country where everyone can be respected, protected and paid.

“By having a cabinet-level task force take a hard look at our nation’s labor laws, President Biden is taking a strong step towards ensuring working people have a seat at the table. Vice President Harris – who has heard the stories of SEIU members and Fight for $15 and a Union leaders, and responded with empathy and outrage – chairing this group means that working people’s lived experience will be front and center during deliberations. 

“We need a wholesale rewrite of labor laws, which were originally written and intended to exclude women, people of color and immigrants. That transformation is absolutely critical to creating a country in which all of us can thrive, no exceptions.”

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The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) unites 2 million diverse members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. SEIU members working in the healthcare industry, in the public sector and in property services believe in the power of joining together on the job to win higher wages and benefits and to create better communities while fighting for a more just society and an economy that works for all of us, not just corporations and the wealthy.