News

Latest News

Rubio: Republicans Can Honor Labor Day by Putting American Workers First

Sep 3, 2018 | Press Releases

Miami, FL – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released a video message today on the need for Republicans to put American workers first in their agenda.

Last month, Rubio introduced the Economic Security for New Parents Act, legislation that creates an option for new parents to pull forward a portion of their Social Security to use for paid parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child. Rubio’s plan has garnered praise as a “win-win for everyone.”

Rubio’s remarks can be watched here. A transcript of Rubio’s remarks is below:

Well happy Labor Day. I hope you are enjoying it with your family. And this Labor Day I am thinking about a phrase that you’re hearing often mentioned now in Washington and in corporate board rooms that are across the country. That phrase is the future of work. And it’s a buzz phrase that doesn’t do American workers justice. Just telling hard-working Americans scrambling for a paycheck against the shifting forces of globalization to “learn to code” – that’s not an answer. But it’s what a lot of our financial and cultural elites think “the future of work” means.

You see, I believe there is a cultural war on work that looks down on technical expertise and physical labor. And some promise to replace a hard day’s work with a government check. But this is not sustainable. And it has to stop. I believe in an agenda that revitalizes the dignity of work. We can build on the successes of tax reform by ensuring the benefits are invested in the skills and paychecks of American workers, and not the pockets of foreign shareholders. We can tear down an elitist view of higher education that funnels students into expensive 4-year degrees, often over better jobs through technical certification and skills training. We can take the side of American workers by strengthening innovative labor organizations like co-ops and workers’ councils.

Believe me, the American children of immigrants and the children of laid-off factory workers, they share a common destiny, if only we can make the American Dream accessible to the many once again. And that, that is the “future of work.” That’s what I have in mind. So Republicans can honor Labor Day by putting American workers first in our agenda and enacting laws that meet the challenges that American workers and their families face in the 21st century. Now let’s get to work on this.