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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S.
Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
United Industrial Workers 2005
Quadrennial Convention
Piney Point, Maryland
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Thank you for that kind introduction.
President Sacco, Secretary-Treasurer Heindel and members of the UIW,
it's wonderful to be here for your 2005 Quadrennial Convention.
It's also great to see to see Secretary Jim Fielder of the Maryland
Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
It is so exciting to see these soon-to-be-graduates with such big
smiles on their fates. That's because they know that they're in a great union
and have great futures ahead of them.
It has been three years since the last time I visited Piney Point, and
let me tell you, you have a first-rate training center, and it keeps getting
better. I've been told that more than 10,000 workers have been trained since my
last visit alone. And these workers are being placed in good-paying jobs with
benefits. That is great news!
I look forward to coming back to Piney Point next week-on Labor Day-
with President Bush.
President Sacco, the President is looking forward to his visit to this
Facility and being with you next week.
It is fitting that this wonderful training center is named after Paul
Hall. After all, Paul Hall was the founder of the United Industrial Workers.
And now it is the proud members of his union, the UIW, who staff the Paul Hall
Center and continue its great, fine tradition of excellence. I congratulate
each of you on the successes of this training center.
You may also be interested to know as well that in 2003, the Department
of Labor inducted Paul Hall into the Department of Labor's Labor Hall of Fame.
President Sacco joined me on stage at the time to honor this labor pioneer. As
you all know, Paul Hall fought for a better life for seafarers, a strengthened
Merchant Marine, a stronger labor movement and better opportunities for young
people and people of color.
And that legacy continues today with President Sacco. President Sacco
has focused on a better life for all of his members and he has also taken a
special interest in helping young people who have had a difficult start in
life. He encourages them and provides them with not only the skills of the
trade, but also the soft skills, which are so important for success in the
workplace, so they can better themselves and the lives of their families. That
is a truly laudable and remarkable endeavor. And so I commend President Sacco,
the Seafarers union and the UIW for providing opportunities for those who need
it most.
Now, as President Sacco mentioned, I did have an opportunity to meet
some of these workers during the recent launch of the Pride of America cruise
ship in New York City. As you know, this is the first brand-new U.S.-flagged
passenger ship in nearly 50 years.
So when her sister ship, the Pride of Hawaii, joins her in 2006, a
total of three U.S.-flagged cruise ships will cruise Hawaii. And as you heard
me say during the launching ceremony of the Pride of America, together, these
three ships will create 20,000 American jobs, of which 3,000-4,000 will be
seafarer's jobs. I want to say those jobs came about because of the leadership,
the partnership and the determination of your president to secure these jobs
for your members.
These tens of thousands of jobs are great news for the Seafarers union
and are great news for America!
And as you know, President Bush feels strongly about the Jones Act,
which requires that these ships use all-American crews. He has consistently
said, even when he was governor of Texas, that the Jones Act is "an essential
element of U.S. policy."
But let us talk about another thing that I know your convention is
discussing, and that is the whole issue about human trafficking. I have been
working with Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on this very important issue,
along with a number of other cabinet members. We really commend you for
focusing on this terrible problem. It is very serious and the Bush
Administration has taken this issue on as a priority. In fact, President Bush
has referred to this epidemic of human trafficking as "one of the worst
offenses against human dignity." He has committed his team to fighting this
crime abroad and at home.
Today, federal agents are engaged in hunting down traffickers and
putting them behind bars and the Department of Labor is helping to rescue,
rehabilitate and reintegrate the victims of trafficking. You can count on the
Labor Department, and this Administration, to be your staunch allies in the
battle against this worldwide evil.
Now I also realize that the issue of homeland security is a very
personal one to all of you. You held your last convention on September 11,
2001. You have commemorated the innocent people who lost their lives four years
ago with a special tribute-"UIW Remembers."
While many of you watched these developments unravel on television,
your brothers and sisters in the Seafarers union were on the job. The Seafarers
helped evacuate more than 160,000 people from Lower Manhattan and return them
to their loved ones. You should be so proud of the courageous chapter in our
nation's history that you and your brothers and sisters wrote on that pivotal
day. Those families-and America-will never forget what the Seafarers did on
that day.
And I know that the Seafarers didn't stop there either. Since the
mobilization for the war against terror began, the Seafarers have been there
for our country-as they have been throughout our nation's history. They, and
members of the UIW, have served in the Armed forces, Reserves or National
Guard. Others are crewing Ready Reserve vessels, delivering munitions, vehicles
and rations wherever they are needed.
It is because of the service of your brothers and sisters in the
Seafarers union that America sustains the strongest military force the world
has ever known. We are grateful for those sacrifices so that we may enjoy our
freedom here and abroad.
So, thank you once again, President Sacco, for your leadership of this
great union and for the tremendous contributions your brothers and sisters make
to America. On behalf of the President, let me thank you and your members for
everything you are doing to keep our country safe and prosperous.
So in closing, may I say, May God bless you. May God bless your
families. And may God bless America.
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