Labor leaders who represent government employees on Thursday praised the Obama administration’s numerous efforts to aid the union movement through new regulations.
Lee Saunders, president of the 1.6 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and Mary Kay Henry, president of the two million-member Service Employees International Union, complimented Labor Secretary Tom Perez for his work supporting them. Perez responded with praise of Saunders and Henry. The exchanges illustrated the close ties between the labor movement and the Obama administration.
“We have to give him his props and the department its props,” Saunders said of Perez, who was seated next to him with Henry during a live pre-Labor Day Facebook webcast hosted by AFSCME. The labor leaders praised the many new and expanded workplace regulations instituted by Obama administration, particularly during Perez’s tenure. Saunders highlighted in particular the regulation increasing the number of workers covered by overtime rules and another making it easier to sue businesses for sex discrimination. He said the labor movement and administration had no excuse not to keep up the pressure to “push the envelope” policy-wise.
Perez responded by saying that “working with Lee and Mary Kay has been an unmitigated pleasure.” He applauded them in particular for their unions’ efforts to push a $15 an hour minimum wage in states and local governments such as California and New York. That was despite the fact that the administration officially supports only a $12 minimum wage, a factor Perez did not mention.
“Now, 20 percent of the county lives in a state or locality that is set to pay $15. That is progress,” Perez said, adding that he was “proud to stand” with the labor leaders and their efforts. He promised to do more to help middle-class people and argued that one of the main things that they wanted was collective bargaining. “There are too many people who would like to be in a labor union who cannot.”
