Washington, D.C. – September 3, 2021 – Today, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey issued the following statement commemorating Labor Day and North America’s workers:

“North America’s Building Trades Unions salute the millions of hardworking men and women who build and maintain this great nation. In their honor, and to honor the entire Labor movement, we continue to fight day in and day out to protect the rights of all workers, ensuring they get an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. We know that collective bargaining allows for middle-class and family-sustaining careers, providing equal access to the American dream for those trying to make a better life for themselves and their families.

“This Labor Day, we thank the men and women of the building trades for supporting those on the frontlines when the rest of us were hunkered down during the darkest days of the pandemic, natural disasters and national security threats by keeping the power on and water systems operating, by building temporary hospitals and keeping hospital systems online with oxygen flowing to ventilators to give our sickest and most vulnerable countrymen and women, friends and family a fighting chance. We are inspired by your remarkable resiliency and dedication and are forever indebted.

“Brothers and Sisters, Labor Day reminds us that all workers are essential and that the infrastructure holding up North America is more than bricks and mortar. It’s people and families, women, veterans, the formerly incarcerated, communities of color, rural and urban, and the uncounted. As we work to improve our country and build back a better, more just, inclusive and diverse society, we all have a responsibility and opportunity every day to give dignity to the hardest working Americans.”

 

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