Northwestern High School
Detroit, Michigan
1:19 P.M. EDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hi, everyone. Good afternoon, Detroit. (Applause.) Oh, it's good to be in the house of labor. (Applause.)
Can we hear it for Tyrese? (Applause.) Tyrese, I want to thank you for your extraordinary leadership and all of your words and the heart and soul that you put into your work, like I know all the members of LIUNA and everyone here does every day, because we love our country and we know what is at stake. Thank you, Tyrese. (Applause.) Thank you.
So, it is so good to be with so many incredible leaders and elected officials who are here. Governor Whitmer was here earlier — (applause); Senator Stabenow; your next United States senator, Representative Elissa Slotkin. (Applause.)
And I always want to thank Representatives Dingell — where is she? There she — there she is. (Applause.) Stevens, Thanedar, all of you for the work that you do every day.
And to all the labor leaders who are here, I thank you all for your extraordinary work. Don't we love Labor Day? (Applause.) We love Labor Day.
It's always been that way, right? The way we celebrate Labor Day is we know that hard work is good work. We know that when we organize, when we bring everyone together, it's a joyful moment where we are committed to doing the hard work of lifting up America's families.
And I want to thank everyone here for that work and the way you do it every day, including General President Booker of the Laborers' — (applause); President Fain of UAW — (applause); President Pringle of NEA — (applause); President Slevin of the Utility Workers — (applause); and President Weingarten of the AFT. (Applause.)
And thank you to all of the union members who are here this afternoon.
So, on Labor Day and every day, we celebrate the dignity of work — the dignity of work. We celebrate unions, because unions helped build America and unions helped build America's middle class. (Applause.)
It is true across our nation, and it is true here in Detroit. Nearly 140 years ago, in this very city, 10,000 people marched in one of our nation's first Labor Day parades. Many held signs that read "Divided, we can beg. United, we can demand." (Applause.)
For generations, in Detroit and across our nation, the brothers and sisters of labor have stood together to righteously demand fair pay, better benefits, and safe working conditions. And let me say, every person in our nation has benefited from that work. (Applause.)
Everywhere I go, I tell people: Look, you may not be a union member. You better thank a union member — (applause) — for the five-day workweek. You better thank a union member for sick leave. You better thank a union member for paid leave. You better thank a union member for vacation time. (Applause.)
Because what we know is when union wages go up, everybody's wages go up. (Applause.) When union workplaces are safer, every workplace is safer. (Applause.) When unions are strong, America is strong. (Applause.)
We know what we're talking about. The labor movement has always understood the power of the collective and the power of unity — the power of unity.
And while we are fighting so much nonsense that is about trying to divide our country, trying to pull us apart, look to what the history and the present of labor tells us about the power of the collective and unity — the spirit of that work, as much as the product of that work. It's very telling and gives us really good lessons about what creates strength.
And, you know, many of you know, my parents met while they were active in the Civil Rights Movement. So, when I was young, my parents — because I see some young leaders here today — when I was young, my parents would take me to the meetings — I see our young leaders — (applause) — and — and take me to the marches. I was in a stroller.
And from a very young age, I learned that when people stand together, when we join voices, knowing that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us — when we join those voices, we can drive extraordinary change, which is why I believe in my heart and soul no one should ever be made to fight alone. We are all in this together. (Applause.) We are all in this together.
But I'll tell you, I think that there has been a certain backward-thinking approach over the last several years, which is to suggest — some folks, them folks — to suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down instead of what we know: The true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up — who you lift up. (Applause.) That's the measure of the strength of a leader. Let's stop with the nonsense.
And in this election, we all here know there are two very different visions for our nation. Ours, focused on the future; the other, focused —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) Let's just get through the next 64 days. How about — (laughs). (Applause.)
And ours — yes, my dear brother — is focused on the future, and theirs is focused on the past. And we fight for the future. We fight for a future where all people receive dignity and respect and opportunity for — not just for some but for all. That's what we are fighting for.
And so, we are 64 days out from the election day. And in Michigan, mail-in absentee voting starts in 24 days — (applause) — 24 days.
So, this election — this election and our fight is a fight for the promise of America, a promise —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you, Kamala!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I love you back. (Applause.)
And ours is a fight for the promise — the promise of America — a promise of freedom, of opportunity, and justice not just for some but for all. (Applause.)
But what we know is, as we fight to move our nation forward, Donald Trump intends to pull us back to the past.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: But we're not going back. We are not going back.
AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: We're not going back.
AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So — and let's — and — and we know — we know what that would look like, right? So, intends to pull us back, including back to a time before workers had the freedom to organize.
As president, we will always remember Donald Trump blocked overtime benefits for millions of workers —
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — Tyrese talked a bit about this — and opposed efforts to raise the minimum wage. He appointed union busters to the National Labor Relations Board.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And he supported so-called right-to-work laws. And if —
AUDIENCE: Trump is a scab! Trump is a scab! Trump is a scab!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, — well, here's the thing. Here's the thing. We have a choice here, right? And — and we're not going back, because we also know that if Donald Trump were reelected, he intends to give tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations. He intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He wants to impose what in effect is a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities that will cost — and economists have said this — that will cost a typical American family almost $4,000 a year.
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act —
AUDIENCE: Booo –
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — and take us back to a time in our country which most of us remember, when insurance companies, you remember, had the power to deny people coverage based on a preexisting condition. Remember that?
AUDIENCE: Booo —
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Deny people — children who had asthma, a survivor of breast cancer, a grandparent with diabetes.
Look, America has tried those failed policies before. And they are failed policies. And we are not going back. (Applause.) We are not going back. We are not going back.
AUDIENCE: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And instead — and instead, we fight for a future — a future where no person has to go broke just because they got sick.
And so, when I am president, we will continue to strengthen the Affordable Care Act. We will bring down the cost of prescription drugs not only for some but for all Americans. (Applause.)
We — we fight for a future where every worker has the freedom to organize. (Applause.) And so, when I am president, we will pass the PRO Act and end union busting once and for all. (Applause.)
And I'll remind everybody, on all these bills, we got to elect a Congress who supports that — (applause) — to be able to actually get that work done.
We fight for a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead. And so, when I am president, we will continue to build what I call an "opportunity economy" so that every American has an opportunity to own a home, to start a business, to build intergenerational wealth for their family.
We fight for a future where every senior can retire with dignity. And so, when I am president, we will continue to defend Social Security, Medicare, and pensions, just like we have done. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Sixty-four days — 64 days — the most important election of our lives and probably one of the most important in the life of our nation.
And here's what I'd say to all the brothers and sisters assembled: We know this is going to be a very tight race to the very end. We know — we know —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: And I got your back. But I'm telling you, we know how they play. We know what they do.
So, let's not pay too much attention to the polls. Let's know, like labor always does: We are out here running like we are the underdog in this race, because we know what we are fighting for. (Applause.) We know what we stand for, and that's why we know what we fight for. (Applause.)
And we got some hard work ahead of us. But, again, we all like hard work, because hard work is good work. And to do that hard work, I'm going to count on everyone here, all the leaders here, for your work, for your organizing, knocking on doors, and getting folks to the polls.
Because, put bluntly, Michigan, y'all know how to win. (Applause.) You know how to win. You know how to win.
So, today, I ask: Detroit, Michigan, are you ready to have your voices heard? (Applause.)
Do we believe in freedom? (Applause.)
Do we believe in opportunity? (Applause.)
Do we believe in the promise of America? (Applause.)
And are we ready to fight for it? (Applause.)
And when we fight —
AUDIENCE: We win!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: — we win.
God bless you. (Applause.)
