Remarks by John Wilhelm, President Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union
Summit on the 21st Century Workforce, June 20, 2001
MCI Center, Washington, DC

MR. WILHELM: Thank you very much, Madam Secretary, and I want to congratulate you and thank you for putting on this terrific event to call attention to the work force, which is indeed the most important issue for our nation for the 21st century. And I want to say that it's an honor to be on the same program with Jeff Bleustein of Harley, that's a labor-management success story that ought to be shouted from the rooftops. And certainly with my leader, John Sweeney, whose leadership has awakened the American labor movement from its complacency and repositioned it and retooled it for the 21st century.

As we shift inexorably toward a service economy, our country faces a fundamental choice. In my generation, we were raised to believe that if you worked hard and showed up to work every day and gave your all to your employer, that you'd earn a piece of the American dream. And as we shift to a service economy, that's called into question today. We've had the longest sustained economic boom in the history of our country. Unemployment is an historic low. We've reformed welfare, we've worked hard at Welfare To Work, and those are all good things. But income inequality is growing, even though more members of the average family are at work. More single parents are at work. More people have multiple jobs, necessary to make ends meet. People are working longer hours, and as a consequence, as the secretary reminded us this morning, parents are spending 22 hours a week less with their children than in the previous generation. And, of course, therefore they're spending less time working with their children's schools, as well. And so inevitably, and not surprisingly, we're experiencing the social problems that flow from these conditions and the family issues that flow from these conditions. And to compound those problems, our employment based system of health care coverage is melting away.

We must find a way to make sure that service sector jobs - not just a handful of them, but all of them - are good jobs. Jobs that are net-positive, economic contributors to our communities. Jobs that pay adequate wages to support families. And jobs that pay adequate wages on one job, so that there's time for family and school and church and community. Jobs that have comprehensive, full-family health care benefits. Jobs that have livable pensions, so the workers can retire with dignity and so that they're not a burden on their families and communities when they do retire. Jobs that are family-friendly. Secure jobs, too, because high turnover jobs aren't good for working families and they're not good for employers either. Jobs with training and clear career paths. Instead of dead-end jobs, so that people can make careers out of the service sector. And so that the service sector is not just someplace you stop on your way to someplace better.

That's our challenge, and I believe that whether we meet that challenge will determine our country's economy and our quality of life as we shift to a service economy. The union that I am privileged to lead represents workers in the hospitality industry. I believe the hospitality industry can be a model for good jobs in the 21st century. Those of us in the industry - employers, employees, unions - need to challenge ourselves. Too often, today's hospitality industry jobs fulfill the stereotype of dead-end, hamburger-flipping jobs. There's no need for that. The record shows that in markets where the hospitality industry has a high union density, labor and management often work together to produce good jobs. Our industry can be the model that it should be. And I believe that labor/management cooperation is crucial to that success.

In many cities in this country, right here in Washington, D.C., in New York, Boston, Atlantic City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and many cities around our country, employers and our union are working together to make real the promise of the hospitality industry. I believe that these should be our goals: high profit margins for employers, excellent service for customers, livable wages for employees, full-family health benefits, secure retirement benefits, family-friendly benefits and policies, job security.

And last, but by no means least, lifelong job training. Job training for new entrants to the hospitality industry, and continual upgrade opportunities so that employees will have a clear career path and an incentive to stay in our industry for their careers.

I'm delighted in this connection that the Secretary will be visiting next week the Cooperative Labor Management Training Center, maintained by our union and the gaming industry in Las Vegas, Nevada. You know, people have a lot of stereotypes about Las Vegas. The truth is - this is why I'm so delighted the Secretary is coming out to take a look firsthand - the truth is, that the unionized gaming industry in Las Vegas is a model for America. It's the best place in our country for working families and particularly those with limited formal education. That's why 5,000 people move there every month.

And I believe, and so do the major employers in Las Vegas believe that our labor/management partnership in that community is the secret weapon of the extraordinary economic boom that Las Vegas has experienced continuously since 1989. The Labor Management Training Center the Secretary will visit is a model for the hospitality industry, and for the entire service economy. It has an exemplary record of job placement and job retention, and it assimilates workers literally from all over the globe. It is, by the way, funded entirely by employer money and governed by a joint labor/management board of trustees.

We owe it, I believe, to future generations of Americans to build on these solid beginnings. The hospitality industry continues to grow, and it continues, by the way, to seek public support.

Our industry has always been and continues to be today, an important portal to the American economy for women, for people of color, and for immigrants. The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union was founded more than a hundred years ago by immigrant workers. Neither the hospitality industry nor the American economy could prosper today without the contributions of immigrants. We are indeed a nation of immigrants. My industry is an industry of immigrants. My union is a union of immigrants. People come from all over the world, and come through our industry, in hopes of participating in the American dream. And that's why the union I lead and the AFL-CIO support legalization for the hard-working, taxpaying people who helped fuel our incredible economic growth for the past decade. We must be very careful - (Applause)

We must be very careful not to be seduced by guest worker schemes. By their nature, since guest workers won't be long in our economy, by their nature such schemes are a disincentive to work force investment. What responsible employer would train and upgrade and develop a career path for a worker who, by definition, must leave soon?

And we have another important obligation, too. While the hospitality industry continues to welcome immigrants, and we should certainly continue to do that, at the same time we need to make sure that no one is left behind. In particular, we must be vigilant to ensure continued hiring and advancement and promotion in our industry for African-Americans, which is becoming a problem in some markets in our industry that are heavily reliant on newer immigrants.

Thank you very much, Madam Secretary, for taking the lead on the 21st century work force issue. On behalf of the Hotel Employees and the Restaurant Employees Union, we pledge to you our continued work with constructive employers and with you, and we pledge our continued efforts to reach out to all of the employers in our industry. Our goal is a model industry that will make a full contribution to 21st century America. We can achieve that goal with your help, and all of us owe no less to this great country and its people. Thank you very much.