Labor Day, 2016

Vol. 81

Friday,

No. 175

September 9, 2016

Part III

The President

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Proclamation 9486--Labor Day, 2016

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 9486 of September 2, 2016

Labor Day, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The strongest middle class the world has ever known was
not built overnight. It was achieved by men and women
who believed that living up to the promise of this
Nation meant more than hoping for the best--it meant
toiling in the day, working through the night, and
proving that theirs was a future worth fighting for. On
Labor Day, we celebrate the grit and resilience of
America's workers and their families, and we recommit
to reaching for a world in which they are afforded the
rights and opportunities they deserve.

America celebrated its first Labor Day in the late 19th
century, when a group of industrial workers in New York
joined in common purpose to celebrate their
contributions to our country. Growing in numbers by the
thousands, they went without their daily pay to march
for their cause--setting in motion a labor movement
that has inspired generations of Americans since.
Clear-eyed and persistent, these hardworking union
members, and those that followed in the path they
forged, helped secure privileges we now take for
granted--not only for themselves, but also for their
friends and loved ones and neighbors. Their efforts
brought about weekends and 40-hour workweeks, overtime
pay and a minimum wage, and the collective bargaining
rights that have empowered so many. Because of the
battles they waged, our Nation benefits from health
insurance and Medicare, Social Security, and other
retirement programs. Their legacy is one we will never
stop striving to uphold.

When I took office, our country faced the worst
recession many of us had ever seen. But through the
determination of our resilient workforce--the best
workers on the planet--we have been able to lay a
stronger foundation for our economy. Our auto industry
has emerged stronger than ever, and the manufacturing
sector, on the decline during the Great Recession and
in its aftermath, has added over 800,000 new jobs.
American businesses have added 15.1 million jobs since
2010. We are now in the middle of the longest streak of
overall job growth on record, and wage growth has
accelerated.

My priority since taking office has always been the
well-being of the American people, and over the course
of my Administration, I have taken steps to make sure
everyone in our workforce is treated and compensated in
ways that reflect the effort they put in. Whether by
pursuing measures that can help ensure a fair day's pay
for a hard day's work, updating occupational health and
safety rules so that no one has to risk their life or
health for their job, or working with State leaders to
increase access to paid sick and family leave, we have
made great strides on our journey to protecting and
growing the middle class. We are working to increase
and diversify apprenticeships as part of a job-driven
skills agenda, and protect middle class savings by
expanding retirement security. And by striving to close
the gender pay gap, include more veterans and Americans
with disabilities in our workforce, protect people who
choose to organize a union in their workplaces, and
prevent people from being denied opportunities because
of who they are or who they love, we have moved closer
to giving all our people an equal shot at making it in
our global economy.

On Labor Day, we are reminded that jobs are about more
than a paycheck. They afford us the ability to take
care of our family, friends, and neighbors; to save for
that well-deserved retirement; to give back to our
communities and the country we would do anything for.
Jobs allow us to dream, to look toward the future, and
to encourage our children to do the same. Though there
is much more to do until all our men and women have the
rights and respect they need to thrive in their
workplaces, on this occasion, let us recommit to
standing together and resolving to create change. If we
do, I am confident we can reach new heights for
ourselves, for our children, and for generations to
come.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim September 5, 2016, as
Labor Day. I call upon all public officials and people
of the United States to observe this day with
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that
honor the contributions and resilience of working
Americans.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
second day of September, in the year of our Lord two
thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and forty-first.