美国梦的代表!拜登提名华裔苏维思出任美国劳工部长!(附视频&演讲稿)
2月28日,拜登在白宫宣布将提名劳工部副部长苏维思(Julie Su)担任劳工部长,接替近日辞职的马蒂·沃尔什(Martin J. Walsh)。苏维思为华裔,能说一口流利的普通话,她也是继美国前劳工部部长赵小兰之后,又一名在劳工部担任高官的华裔。
拜登在演讲中表示,苏维思是一位“真正的领导人”,“是美国梦的代表”。苏维思“致力于让每个美国人都能实现梦想”,并表示她支持工会、提高工人安全并保护那些人口走私的受害者。
作为一名乘坐货船抵达美国的移民母亲的女儿,苏维思说她相信“美国的变革力量”。她说,一份工会工作为她的父母提供了通往中产阶级的道路,最终使她进入斯坦福大学和哈佛大学。“所有在阴影下辛勤工作的人,我们与你们站在一起,为你们而战”,她说。
如果苏维思的提名获得通过,她将是拜登内阁中首位亚裔部长,也会令内阁中女性成员增多。
近三十年来,苏维思一直是弱势群体的强力拥护者,今年正值美国经济和劳动力发展的关键时刻,苏维思一旦确定上任,她能够成为美国政府稳定经济和争取劳工更多权利的重要使者吗?
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Whoa! I think they like you.
Good morning.
I’m going to — I’m going to close my eyes and pretend you were clapping for me.
Please have a seat if you have one.
I think they like you.
That’s what I think.
You see the senator right here? If in fact you are not picked to be the next Secretary of Labor, I will be run out of town.
First of all, let me say, I don’t know — I see a lot of members of Congress here who are strong — and, by the way, they’ve got a full day today.
They’re supposed to in Baltimore for a — up in — for a caucus up there.
And I don’t want to start reading out names in case some aren’t here.
But there’s a — you’ve had overwhelming support in the caucus — and in both the House and the Senate, I might add.
And I’m joined by Vice President Harris and — who chairs the House — White House Task Force on Worker Organization and — and Empowerment to ensure that every worker — every worker has a voice and the ability to exercise their sacred right to organize.
That’s a big deal: the right to organize.
You know We’ve had — we’ve had no better partner in this effort and so much more that he’s done than Marty Walsh from Boston.
(Pronounced in Boston accent.) Marty, stand up, please.
Marty has several — has several claims to fame.
He’s a proud son of Irish immigrants; mayor of Boston; was the — for the last two years, Secretary of Labor.
And I assume he knows something about hockey.
I asked him if he’d take me with him, but he wouldn’t.
Chris, he thought I’d be the hockey puck.
Anyway.
Look, it matters.
I promised to be the most pro-union President in presidential history.
I’m going to put this down.
And, folks — thank you.
The reason thank you.
The reason I ran was to rebuild the backbone of this nation — the middle class — and grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down.
Because, look, when, in fact, you build it that way, everybody does well.
The rich still do very well.
They don’t get hurt.
It’s like — it’s not a punishment, you know? But when it’s trickle down, not a whole lot dropped on our kitchen table when I was growing up.
Not much trickle there.
And we’re changing that.
You know, there was a law passed in the early ‘30s saying that — not that unions “could” organize, but we “should” have more unions.
We should have more unions — encouraging them.
We’re all guided by things that we’ve heard our parents and our grandparents repeat a thousand times growing up and as a young person.
And my dad — I know some of you are tired of hearing me say: My Dad used to say, and he meant it, “A job is about a lot more than a paycheck.
It’s about your dignity.
It’s about respect.
It’s about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Everything is going to be all right,’ and mean it.” And he meant it.
Marty Walsh understands that — each of these fundamental principles in his very bones.
In the past two years, we’ve made incredible progress, in my view.
And Marty has been an overwhelming reason why we have made that progress. Our economy sees record job growth.
Historic laws that have — I’ve signed are going to create even more new jobs in years to come.
And Marty put us on track to meet the bold goal of a million new registered apprenticeships by 2025.
And that means training and pathways for everyone from teachers to truckers, to cybersecurity specialists, to construction workers.
Marty played a pivotal role delivering rail workers this historic pay raise they got to prevent a potential catastrophic strike — strike at the same time.
But when he — we signed a law — the Butch Lewis Act — that protects the pensions of millions of .
Sounds easy now, but it was a long time in coming.
Thanks, Marty, for all your hard work. Marty has done an incredible job fighting wage theft, combatting exp- — the way that workers and laborers is exploited, and protecting workers and their rights and their safety.
You know, for example, he helped recover more than $520 million in back wages for liquidated damage for more than 2- — 335 workers — 335,000 workers, I should say.
And he made sure employers understand the National Labor Relations Act, again, it didn’t say we should “allow” unions; it said we should “encourage” unions.
And we’re going to continue to do that. Thanks for — to Marty’s leadership, support for unions in America now is higher than it’s been anytime in the last 60 years, Marty.
I’ve known Marty a long time.
I know his heart.
Marty, thank you for everything you’ve done.
Thank you for standing up for labor.
Thank you for standing for ordinary people.
And thank you for having my back, pal.
And most of all, thank you to your partner, Lorrie, who is watching from home.
He’s here.
Front row.
And I know your mom, Mary, is watching from home as well.
Mary, you’ve raised an incredible son.
You raised an incredible son.
If I ever want anybody in the foxhole with me, I want Marty Walsh there.
And, Marty, you’ve been incredible.
I really mean it.
We are grateful for your service.
We’re grateful to your service to the American workers and to our nation.
And Marty is the first to say the Department of Labor — the Department of Labor has accom- – — has — has accomplished an awful lot, but it wouldn’t have done all this — been done without Julie Su.
She’s been a strong partner and a real leader.
She used to be the Secretary of Labor before in a state about as big as the rest of America.
Julie knows in her bones as well the people who get up every morning and go to work and bust their necks just to make an honest living deserve something — someone to fight on their side to give them an even shot.
Just a — just a shot so they don’t get stiffed.
Well, that’s been happening to too many workers for much too long.
Fighting to make sure they have a fair shot is — and no one is left behind.
Julie has spent her life fighting for that vision, her entire professional career.
And as a civil rights lawyer and a leader of California’s state labor department, the biggest in the entire country, Julie spent two years[decades] representing workers — many without college degrees, many who didn’t speak English but who worked long, long hours at low pay and were just looking for a little bit of dignity — just a little bit of dignity for themselves and their families.
She’s increased the minimum wage, cracked down on wage theft, protrec- — protected trafficked workers, established and enforced workplace safety standards, and so much more.
The Department of Labor — she’s led the effort to ensure jobs of high-growth industries like semiconductor manufacturing, broadband, healthcare, and so much more — making sure they’re good-paying jobs, high-quality jobs, and union jobs.
Union jobs.
When I spoke with the Business Roundtable, they asked — wanted to know why I was so pro-union.
I said, “To save you money.” I’m not kidding.
Most Americans out there think you want to be electrician or you want to be a laborer or you want to be a carpenter, you show up and you get a job.
Well, you spend four to five years as an apprentice.
It’s like going back to college with a little added degree.
They’re the best workers in the world.
And you might as well get the job done right the first time and, long term, save you a lot of money.
And, by the way, I didn’t get much blowback when I made that comment.
And like — and like — and like it is for Marty, it’s personal for Julie.
Born in Wisconsin, she’s the daughter of Chinese immigrants.
Mom of a union worker — her mom was a union worker, and her dad was a small-business owner.
She went on to law school, served the people of California.
Julie is the American Dream.
And she is what the American Dream is about.
More importantly — I think even more importantly, she is committed to making sure that dream is within the reach of every American.
Every American.
That’s what she’s all about. She is going to make sure it happens as the fourth Asian American woman in my Cabinet.
But, look — you know, I know, Julie, your most important title is “Mom,” and she has two accomplished, wonderful daughters.
Stand up, girls, will you?
The reason — the reason we were a few — a few minutes late: I was asking them what they were doing.
They’re both in college still.
And we had a little debate in there whether Amherst is better than Yale or Yale is better than Amherst.
But anyway, I won’t get into that.
It’s my honor — and I mean it sincerely — my honor to nominate Julie Su to be our next Secretary of Labor.
I think they like you.
And I asked the United States Senate to move this nomination quickly, so we cont- — can continue the progress to build this economy that works for everyone.
Julie, thank you for your willingness to serve.
Thank you for all you’ve done.
And thank you for what you’re about to do.
God love you, as my mother would say.
All you.
DEPUTY SECRETARY SU: Thank you.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr.President, for your words and for your trust.
Sixty years ago, my mom came to the United States on a cargo ship because she couldn’t afford a passenger ticket.
Recently, she got a call from the President of the United States telling her that her daughter was going to be nominated to be U.S. Labor Secretary.
So, I believe in the transformative power of America, and I know the transformative power of a good job.
I know because it was the kind of job that my mom got that had predictable hours, paid sick leave, health benefits, a secure income, and a pension when she retired.
A union job that gave my parents a path to the middle class and gave our family the kind of breathing room that the President talks about.
We have never had a President who has made workers, worker wellbeing, and worker power so central to his vision of a strong nation and a strong economy.
Mr.President, when you said you wanted to be the most pro-worker, pro-union President in history and restore decency and build the middle class, I said, “Sign me up for that.” I want to help do that.
And it’s been my honor to be the Deputy Secretary.
Those shared values are what I will work to make real every day.
To Secretary Marty Walsh, with whom I have worked side by side: You embraced a true, real partnership between us from day one.
You have changed the world for millions of workers, and you will be sorely missed not just by those of us who got to work with you every day but by those workers who have benefited from your leadership.
And I’m grateful for all that I’ve learned from you.
And I am proud to be chosen to, in the words of the President, “finish the job.”I have also been able to work in close partnership with the people who are the Department of Labor.
To my team, who’s here and across the country, especially the career staff who have devoted your lives to the mission of the DOL: You are the heart and soul of the department, and I’m thrilled to continue our good work together. And I stand here today deeply grateful for community.
And as I look out, I see that today is a celebration of that community.
When the President talks about those who’ve been forgotten or invisible, I know what he means because I have spent my career fighting for them to be seen.
So to all workers who are toiling in the shadows, to workers who are organizing for power and respect in the workplace, know that we see you, we stand with you, and we will fight for you.
And to my daughters, my bǎobèis, who are here: Thank you for the love, for missing class to be here today for the sacrifices that you have made so Mama can do this work.
I would not be who I am without you.
We have an extraordinary opportunity to build an economy where no one feels invisible, where every individual and community not only gets to benefit from the President’s transformative vision for America but also gets to help make it real.
So let’s build together.
Thank you so much.
THE PRESIDENT: Ladies and gentlemen Girls, come up here.
DEPUTY SECRETARY SU: Oh, come up.
THE PRESIDENT: Come up.
Ladies and gentlemen, I know there are more presidents in this room that I met with — when I met with the G20 presidents but — of unions.
But I also know there’s a bunch of Cabinet members here.
Would all the Cabinet members walk up on the stage here — that are here? Come up.
The reason I did it — I wanted to know if anybody is working today.
Secondly, we got a bunch of members of Congress who are here today, too.
I don’t want to ask them to have to come up, but if you want to, you can.
I — I got to start reading down — but at any rate, members of Congress, come on up.
And I want you to know: Maybe your strongest, most intimidating supporter is right there.
The distinguished senator.
God love you.
Folks, all kidding aside, putting politics aside: We can do a lot of good things.
We have a shot to really do some really good things that are totally consistent with everything about what this country is about.
And I’m just anxious to get — to finish the job here.
And so, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank all of you. And I wouldn’t be standing here were it not for labor.
Thank you all for all you’ve done for me, but much, much more importantly, all you’ve done for the country.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You’re welcome to hang around.
对于苏维思来说,她花了将近三十年的时间积累了一份出色的履历,提名劳工部部长实属意料之中。苏维思出生于威斯康星州麦迪逊市,父母都是移民。
据报道,她的父亲来自中国台湾,母亲因买不起船票只能乘坐货船来到美国。苏维思从小生活在父母努力打工养活她和妹妹的氛围中,即使钢琴课很贵,母亲仍旧努力工作到深夜供她上课,父亲总是教育她“要以正确方式做事”。“它建立了我对工人承诺的基础。”苏维思说道。
2019年1月,苏维思被任命为加州劳工和劳力发展厅厅长,领导加州政府最大的行政部门之一,包括加州就业发展局。在她的职业生涯中,她积极利用法律打击任何形式的工资盗窃和劳工剥削,赢得了当之无愧的声誉。
安东尼奥·萨莫拉(Antonio Zamora)是一名建筑工人,在洛杉矶从事安装石膏板和金属框架的工作。萨莫拉发现雇用他的中间商从对方那里收取每小时60美元的费用,却只付给工人每小时12美元。萨莫拉以克扣工资为由起诉中间商,苏维思成立了专门的调查小组,打击餐饮业、建筑业和农业中克扣工资的“坏苹果”,“劳工委员会是唯一可以帮助我们的人,”萨莫拉回忆道,“我们得到的比预期的要多,这一切都是他们的功劳。”
一向谦虚的苏维思在讲述这些故事时充满了活力。“我们的工作创造了历史。许多雇佣者认为工人不敢说出来,但我们想要证明——政府是你们真正的合作伙伴。”
苏维思的人生也并非一帆风顺。在新冠大流行期间,那些没有资格领取失业福利的工人可以通过联邦政府支持的大流行失业援助计划提出申请,政府最终发放了1140亿美元失业救济金。
然而苏维思承认有大约10%的救济金即114亿美元证实被诈骗,落入了黑客、假冒身份者和海外犯罪团伙手中;另外近200亿美元失业救济金的申领也很可疑,其中很大一部分可能是欺诈,“现实中没有糖衣,加州没有足够的安全措施来防止这种程度的欺诈”。
同时她还很愤怒地表示,“如果加州实施了适当的欺诈预防手段,这种情况本可以避免”。然而这次欺诈事件成为苏维思政治生涯中的一大“污点”,共和党人以此为理由反对她担任劳工部副部长和担任部长的提名。
苏维思的工作理念非常简单,她喜欢把不同的人聚在一起,把问题放在一起。与苏维思合作过的人评价她有极强的能力引导一群人朝着目标坚定前进,团队里的每一个人都感到自己被倾听,感到自己拥有了神圣的权力。她的个人故事、站在员工立场上理解对方的处事方法感染着每个人。
成为劳工部副部长后,苏维思更是贯彻了“剥削劳工就是犯罪”的原则,打击任何形式的克扣工资行为,西方学院政治学教授彼得·德赖尔(Peter Dreier)曾将她比作罗斯福执政时期的改革劳工部长、美国第一个女性内阁成员弗朗西斯·珀金斯(Frances Perkins)。“我们将继续这样做——建立适当的政府系统,建立桥梁,保证工人利益最大化,这也是打造更强大、更具弹性经济的关键。”苏维思表示。
END
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