and families of the workers to honor their commitment and sacrifices. secretary perez says the honor is overdue to the man whose work on the transcontinental railroad helped to build a nation. this is hosted by the department of labor and is about an hour and 15 minutes. >> welcome and thank you for being here. welcome to the department as we commemorate asian-pacific and pacific islander heritage month. i also want to thank all who are joining us by a live stream webcast. we are also thrilled to have c-span here today. so that these events the important commemoration can

be seen by viewers across the .orld as the deputy secretary of labor, as a proud member of the obama administration, and as the son of immigrants, i spent many -- it is a proud privilege to be here today as we induct these hall ofinto the worker fame for labor. [applause] today to help build our nation. of the who were one biggest expansions of our nations history and one of the biggest historic compliments. growing up, this is not a history that i learned in school. and that is a shame. my hope is that by sharing the history of these 12,000 workers, we can help to repay some of the

debt we owe to generations of immigrants who helped to build this country. these were craftsmen that understood how to build a railroad that cross rivers and wrapped around mountains. and when they could not go around the mountain, they would blast their way through. was it -- this work dangerous. you had to like explosives and run away before it went off. and the work was so hazardous that the workers were said to of had a china man's chance of surviving, which was not much chance of -- at all.

what was their reward for a job well done? backlashed a wave of called yellow peril, that supposedly said they were taking away jobs. and a little more than a decade after they completed the -- after -- they completed the railroad, congress passed the act.se exclusion only in the 1960's were people like my parents able to become u.s. citizens. today we began to write an old wrong. incrediblerd these pioneers their well-deserved place in american history. and tinier history. -- pioneeris

history. [applause] many oftill confronting the wrongs committed against these workers a century and a half ago. we have benefited from wave after wave of industrious immigrants. in immigrant families, there is a special place of honor for the first, the first to come to the country, the first to face the unknown. of 18 millionity asian-americans and said -- and pacific islanders in this country, the chinese railroad workers are part of our first. they pushed open a door so the generations could follow them. successes hasheir

been missing in our history for far too long and that is why we honor them today. before we continue the program, i want to recognize some special colleagues that are here today. first and foremost, i want to recognize our former secretary formersportation, secretary of congress, norm minetta. [applause] i want to recognize the former chief of staff in this wonderful department -- i don't know if she is hiding. ma, who played a critical role in pushing this forward. [applause] the selection committee was comprised of many people. thank you to all of them for a well-made choice. [applause] and one special person who

deserves a lot of recognition is the one who orchestrated this entire thing, which is filled tom, the director -- phil the director of our faith-based and neighborhood partnerships. [cheers and applause] .ome others played key roles the stamford american chinese partnership, the chinese american citizens alliance, the oca, and the asian-pacific members alliance. let's give them a round of applause. [applause] finally, all of you were entertained earlier by the ,ncredibly talented john jang who shared his music with us. he is sharing his unique culture by giving us music and culture

that is unique. thank you. [applause] lastly, the warmest welcome goes to the family members of the descendents of the chinese railroad workers. we have many of them here. i hope for those of you in the audience, you have a chance to talk to them after the event. let's give them a round of applause as well. [applause] now it is my great pleasure and introduce the to next speaker. please join me in welcoming the secretary of labor, tom perez. [applause] >> thank you, chris.

good morning. it is an honor to be here this morning and it's always an honor remarkablywith such distinguished people, including one of my heroes and one of the invy rates -- heavyweights the civil rights movement and in the movement for opportunity, congressman minetta, secretary minetta. he invited me. important, bute it is important to be nice. congresswoman grace mang will be joining us. that pesky work in the house is keeping her other bit busy right now. we are thrilled that she will hopefully be able to join us. chris, thank you for all of your leadership. u -- thiseek 54 chris lo chrislu.ve for

we are thrilled to have him. aren't -- we are thrilled to have our leadership team. secretary minetta is right, someone who basically turn the xiou.s on for us, pat will turning that she them off for us at the end of the day. the incredible challenges the remarkable work that was done by --emarkable group of people the incredible challenge is the remarkable work that was done by her mark of a group of people has not been recognized in this country. we want to correct that. i want to thank phil t for helping usom correct that.

145 days ago tomorrow, the word "done" was telegraphed to washington, d.c., sending the word that the final spike had been driven to complete the first transcontinental railroad. it was one of the most remarkable feats of the 19th century, connecting the country from coast to coast, opening the to travel across the nation and changing the face of the nation. railroad, crossing the nation took six months. the railroad made it take a week. that sounds like the internet. it really does. they gathered in the utah territory to celebrate the milestone, but there was a conspicuous absence there. because conspicuously absent from the photos that they were the chinese workers whose

grueling work made this possible. newly 12,000 chinese immigrant laborers helped build that railroad. they build 85% of the railroad, which built the -- they were 85% of the railroad, which built the western portion of that line. the superintendent found them to be more than capable of the work and eventually began recruiting them from across california as well as overseas. know, it was backbreaking, dangerous work. many died. they were subjected to brutal working and living conditions and paid less than other laborers for their work. it was wrong then. it is wrong now. and they laid railroad tracks in the sweltering desert and the snow-covered sierra nevada mountains. several thousand of the chinese workers found the courage to strike for better conditions.

that is remarkable. leaders is of these something that the nation needs to know more about. they fought for an increase in pay from 30 -- 35 to $40 per month. responded by cutting off food trains to starve them out. the strike lasted about a week before the majority of workers resumed working. and all the the demands were not met, their willingness to organize and stand up for their rights in and of itself was a victory. and in and of itself was a profile in courage. and yet their commitment to the work and the sacrifices they been fullyot recognized. that is why we are here today, to recognize the chinese railroad workers who did not just build a railroad. they helped build a nation. we are here to show our long-overdue appreciation for

their heroic work. we are not only recognize in the miles and miles of railroad track that they laid. we are recognizing them as the first a long line of a api workers who have contributed to american strength and vitality. chinese american workers planted some of the first crops in california. asian-americans were critical to the development of the west coast and fishing and canning industry. and hawaiian and other pacific islanders helped develop the sugarcane industry in hawaii. they helped in oregon in other respects. from chinese and japanese railroad workers in the 19th century to those who are an integral part of the labor force today. low-wage and all too frequently vulnerable workers have also been a vital part of

the labor movement. in 1965 when filipino farmworkers walked off the grape farms in california, they were not just trekking for their rights. they were helping to plant -- striking for their rights. they were helping to plant the seeds of a much larger movement. the organizers and the agricultural organizing committee launched a strike and soon after, became half of the coalition that formed the united farm workers of america. a remarkable and enduring, schmid. accomplishment. [applause] and you know, labor rights and civil rights are like a marathon relay. the vuitton gets held. the chinese railroad workers have held that baton for so long. of today, the tradition

workers organizing and leading the american labor movement and carrying that baton continues congressman, friend, thank you for carrying the baton and continuing to carry that baton. [applause] and thank you for inspiring a new generation of leaders. because i tell you, i met with a lot of folks yesterday, and they've got game. they are doing good stuff. the formation of the asia-pacific... -- american dayr alliance marked a new in the community alliance building. where is she echoed there you are. the director of the workers alliance. we have done a lot of work or -- work together.

hsu, theiend julie california labor commissioner, we did a lot of work together on victims of explication in california. julie continues her wonderful work in her capacity as california labor commissioner. this woman is a force of nature. i have seen her at work. she was a critical partner in developing the final rule that we announced last year to provide minimum wage and overtime protection to health care workers. many of them were working 80 hours a week and making $400. do the math. that was not right. it happened to the chinese railroad workers and it isn't right today when it happens to home health workers or other workers across a variety of low-wage sectors. other labore

leaders who are standing up for the rights of workers across the country, leaders like the director of the national taxi workers alliance, with whom i met yesterday. director of the restaurant opportunity council center as well. jobs forirector of justice. that family has a serious gene pool. we have her sister as well. she is here somewhere. i know i saw her before. there is a remarkable line of leaders across this country. and here at the labor department, we are working with these advocates and so many others to address all of these issues confronting our communities. today, even as we celebrated our past, as we are going to do and continue to do here today, we tackle the great resolve of the challenges of -- and the

challenges of the present and of the future. we will continue to do so. whether it is organizing workers, dressing the needs of cap drivers, ensuring the safety of nail salon employees, we had the department of labor are here to work to ensure that when you work a full day's wage, you get paid for that -- a full day's work, you get paid for that work. we are here to ensure that opportunity abounds for anybody willing to work hard and play by the rules. and that is precisely what you do day in and day out. very excited about our interagency partnership with the eeoc and the justice department ist chris flew -- chris lu leading, that is focusing on advancing employment protection for aapi communities. and that'sng listening sessions are intended

to ensure that everybody -- our listening sessions are intended to ensure that everybody is protected, and that everyone has an opportunity to work. and we want to make sure that the opportunity in society that secretary minetta fought so hard to fulfill is continuing to be fulfilled. and we will continue to push tirelessly for the issue that is one of the most important issues of our day, which is passing comprehensive immigration reform. [applause] as the son of immigrants, i spent many nights at the table talking about politics. politics transformed the life of our family. my mother and father were forced to leave the dominican republic because of a brutal dictator.

immigrants have been coming here, seeking prosperity, opportunity, liberty, and ccess to equality. like so many before them, gave everything for a chance to share in the prosperity of our rowing nation. just as many new immigrants today confront the same things. this is not just a rights story, this is a story about civil rights, about human rights, we are indeed a nation of immigrants, and as we have received assistance and hospitality upon our arrival, my parents taught me the secretary teaches us every singe day that it is our obligation to make sure that the heard of opportunity is pen to everyone.

that's what home health workers across this country are trying to do. and we need to fix our broken immigration system so we can move people out of the shadows and into the sunshine, and we ill continue to do that. i'm confident that if we were to have conversations the day they were marking the completion, the day that chinese workers were omitted from those photographs, what they would be telling us i am confident is keep up the fight. keep up the good work. make sure you're fighting for opportunity for my great-grandchild, and not only for my chinese-american grandchild, but for people of all races.

it is a great honor to recognize these people, the hall of honor, helen keller, justin dart, a. phillip andolph, among others. i will tell you one thing. the hall of honor has never included a representative from the aapi community, until now. let's get onto it. [applause] f [applause]

if the living representatives of the chinese workers in the front row here and other living representatives -- can they join me on stage? come on. come on. hey chris and portia, can you oin us, as well? mr. secretary, could i impose on you to join us? can i ask -- are there others ere who could stand? if there are others. ok. well, you cannot hide, man. this is one of those people who is, what we call in the business, a servant leader. he toils in anonymity.

he needs to be acknowledged. so, ladies and gentlemen, as the united states secretary of labor, it is my privilege today o recognize your ancestors for their historic role in building this great nation and advancing the labor movement in the united states. they took on the arduous task f completing the western section of the transcontinental railroad and laid the foundation for the extraordinary american prosperity that would follow. many of them perished from harsh winters and dangerous working conditions. many who survived faced prejudice, low wages, social isolation. they courageously took a stand to organize for fair wages and safe working conditions. they connected our nation and advance the cause of good, safe jobs for all workers.

all workers. as we celebrate 145 years since the completion of the transcontinental railroad, can you come up here? i just saw you out of the corner of my eye. we honor these pioneers for their sacrifice. we honor them for the most difficult jobs. on behalf of the president of the united states and the nited states department of labor, on this day, may 9, 2014, i, hereby, and one of the great privileges that i have had, induct the 12,000 chinese railroad workers from 1865-1869 into the labor hall of honor. they have made our country proud. [applause]

>> now, it is my pleasure to introduce someone who will speak on behalf of the descendents of the chinese railroad workers. > thank you. i expected this honor and awesome crowds. i did not expect to be so moved. the remarks of the secretariat have made it right. 45 years ago, my parents went for the 100th anniversary of the completion of the railroad. the secretary of transportation ignored the chinese. he said, who but americans could have tunneled through the summit? who but americans could have built 10 miles of track in one day? this is an awesome moment. the other awesome thing is, or

me, i flew in from minetta irport and i am here today. orman minetta is here. i know him as a great man. as a representative of the descendents of chinese workers on the transcontinental railroad, i wish to thank secretary perez and the department of labor selection committee for this. i am thrilled to see my fellow descendents present from all arts of the country. the great grandchildren of the six foot tall railroad foreman who settled in denver, olorado.

his descendents became farm workers on the west coast. the li family ancestors rode to new york city to begin new entures. there are many descendents who do not know their ancestors were part of this great american enterprise. it is buried in united states history, hidden by chinese communities. there was a time where the chinese labor was the lowest class of person in america. after the railroad completion, there was no more need for the chinese workers. there was the burning of chinatown's. most devastating was the chinese is usually act of 1882. it denied the right of naturalization to persons of the chinese race. they could not come to america. they knew that their sons and

daughters could. my great-grandfather left a poor village in south china. he arrived in america in 1866 as a contract laborer for the central pacific. he acquired building skills, a few words of english, and teamwork. he learned that it was possible, despite the hardship and racism, to survive and dream of a better life. he took the train to san francisco and work in the general store. he became the manager and sent for his wife. they started a family. the railroad gave him this foothold in america. despite being born in america, his sons traveling on business were treated like aliens. they were interrogated and detained. in his testimony, my

great-grandfather declared that he was a merchant and never a laborer. not even that he was a foreman n the transcontinental railroad. it is only through oral history, his telling the true story to his sons, who told his daughter, my mother, who told me. i know that my ancestor worked on the iron road. the chinese building the railroad finally have their rightful place in history hanks to all of you. [applause] the department of labor has written it on the wall and it cannot be denied or a raced. this is an enduring legacy that belongs to the whole of american society and we should all be so proud. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you for being with us again and thank you for sharing the wonderful story about your family. i want to welcome a new member to the department of labor to the stage. i do not often get to say hat. our next speaker is the new assistant secretary. while portia is new to the department, she is not new to the world of advocating for workers. she served as the special assistant to the president and advise on labor and workforce issues. please welcome the assistant

secretary. >> hello. i think we are starting our panel. i hope that we are going to be joined -- i will do brief introductions and we will go into our dialogue. first is our secretary. and the director of caring across generations. she has been organizing workers for years. and has been recognized for her leadership. two of my favorite is the list of influential people around the world and the 100 and 50 -- 150 fearless women list.

to her left is patricia. she serves in the group. she is known as the longtime civil rights leader for all of her work to san francisco, where she advocated on behalf of workers. so, we are here today to think about how we can, in the words of the secretary, ring the railblazers -- bring the trailblazers. i think that there are a lot of lessons we can learn from their experience. and, a lot of analogies.

although a lot of things have changed, some things have stayed the same. i would like to open it up to our panelists to talk about some of the similarities we see from then to today. what are some of the opportunities and challenges we see for asian american workers. >> i have to start by saying, as a asian american and chinese american labor organizer, what n incredible honor it is to be here and how proud i am that we have an administration that would make this historic wrong and incredibly powerful story visible and part of our history. please join me in thanking him for his leadership. [applause]

i am very emotional. i would also like to say that, chinese american workers also helped to build for domestic workers. those women worked with a messed up workers in california and hawaii. -- domestic workers in california and hawaii. there are so many parallels to what we see in this economy. asian workers are helping to build the very infrastructure that this economy is being built upon. whether it is technology or care workers. the nannies who helped take care of the families and the taxi drivers. there is an invisible architecture upon which our 21st-century economy is being built.

asian workers are playing a tremendous role in carrying that work forward. i also say that we have faced similar challenges. asian workers are overly-representative and vulnerability -- overly-represented in vulnerability. a group of our members from an immigrant organization in maryland and a domestic worker organization in new york went and rescued a nepali urvivor. this is still happening and it is important that we shore up the conditions for the most onorable or curse in our economy. it is important that measures

like the regulatory changes that we are moving towards that will be implemented in 2015 that will bring 1.8 million under minimum wage protections for the first time in 75 years. a huge accomplishment. huge accomplishment. we estimate that at least 10% of the home care workers and caregivers who will benefit from these protections are asian american workers. we have so much to do. we have come so far and there's so may lessons to be drawn. >> thank you. you said the words, "invisible architecture." they're so rezznant. i was talking before the event started with some of the descendants in the hallway. when i was growing up, i was at a chinese community event and there were 100 of our families stop i grew up in upstate new

york. it was not often i saw an asian penn i didn't know already. but i was talking to another little girl, and i said where did your parents immigrant from, and she said san francisco. we are fourth-generation. how can there be this generation? i did not know. did not know. i didn't know that the railroad workers had come, and we still often don't know about the other asian american workers who are here, what they're doing, and asian american workers, and sort of knowledge and being sure we understand their situations and can help them is such an important part, i think, not only of understanding our history, but understanding what we can do today to advance labor rights. this is something we have worked on and thought about a lot. you are providing that information and knowledge as a huge part of what you do. can you talk a little bit about that? >> sure. i just want to say that this is

a personal moment for me. 30 years ago, when i was a junior at uc berkeley, ice been some time studying -- i had spent some time studying the chinese railroads. it is a pleasure to talk about this. thank you for your work. at the office of federal contractors, we are the civil rights division of the department of labor. we protect the rights of the 25% of the workforce who worked as contractors. we protect them from discrimination. we protect them if they are eterans. we make sure that federal contractors who earned between 00 billion and $700 billion of taxpayer dollars provide an equal footing an equal

hance. we enforce their affirmative-action obligations. one of the things we have done here in the obama administration is create a communication division and an outreach division. we are a worker protection agency. if people do not know who we re and what we do, we -- i am looking forward to the sessions we are going to have across the country and to hear about the current conditions of all kinds of vulnerable asian workers. someone came to me yesterday

and said, what do you mean by "vulnerable workers?" ken may be undocumented -- can they be undocumented? i said, yes. everybody. we want to hear how we can work together to be more responsive to human needs. it is hard to believe, in this day and age, that there continues to be persistent discrimination against asian-americans. that is in every facet of the audits that we do. whether they are low-wage jobs, manufacturers, or, most recently, in your, -- in new york in a case that we settled with minority engineers. ot one person of color was hired for that job. most of those who were denied the job were qualified and were asian. so, i take that as a real issue and a challenge for us. the other issue and challenge for us, and i am very grateful

to our colleagues, is the granular data. the importance of making sure that we are looking at the sort of data that is necessary to tell the real story about the asian-american community. we are not monolithic. we come from different generations, different places, with afferent skills. there -- different skills. it makes it very important for us to be able to address in a precise way exactly what -- exactly how we can remedy his. good data is the foundation of the policy. good policy is the foundation of a strategic, effective enforcement. one of the things i was struck by, studying the issue, is that

the workers were called celestials. i have noticed throughout the history of this country that using words to objectify people to justify treating them in a demeaning way is something that we need to work on. despite being called mean names, despite being treated so poorly, not being paid, being burned out from one chinatown to another, by other workers, these chinese workers persevered, and they embodied the very best spirit, i think, of what america has to offer, and i'm just so proud as i sit here to be someone of chinese merican descent. so, looking out, we have descendents and other governmental employees of asian-american dissent.

we have advocates and activists in this month. what do you see and what are we working on. -- working on? what do you think that organizations can do to take the next steps to make sure that we are addressing the needs of the vulnerable workers? >> i think that this is an incredible step forward. to start making visible the stories of asian workers in our history and today. i think that asians will continue to drive innovation at every level of this economy. we are connected globally and are part of a global economy. the fact that all of this innovation is happening, whether it is home health care workers to people in silicon valley -- i think that that innovation is really important. and, i think that it is important.

from garment workers who organized in the 1990's and restaurant workers who were organizing in the 1990's. oday, taxi drivers are organizing across the country and filipino domestic workers in los angeles. they are building committees andance to communicate with each other, there's just fantastic organizing that's happening among asian low-wage workers that is about telling the story and innovating the future. so we can lift up those stories and support that work and those leaders, because it is happening, and it's incredibly exciting and inspiring.

>> we have been joined by the congresswoman. thank you so much. we're delighted you can make it. we know you have a busy schedule. we appreciate you being ere. we have been talking a little bit about how the situation with the chinese road workers, workers of invisibility, of low wages, of marginal status sometimes, it makes it very difficult for workers to come forward. we've also talked about some of the wonderful strengths of our communities coming forward and organizing, working together, both to be seen and also to improve working conditions. congresswoman, first of all, i should do a brief introduction. she represents the sixth congressional district in new york. she has a number of asian american constituents, and she's also the first asian american member of congress

from new york state. i sort of couldn't believe that when i read that. i thought it must be wrong. we really appreciate you being here, and we are hoping you can share with us some thoughts from talking with your constituents, from representing them first in the assembly and then in congress, about what you see as some of the issues on the forefront for asian american workers and communities. >> first of all, i do want to apologize for being tardy, and it's such an honor to be here. all of our community leaders in this room, it's an honor to join you on the stage today. this is an issue that is very important. we do not necessarily have all the solutions in our community. we see cases of this all the time in offices where people come and do not necessarily know about the existing state and federal laws and working

and safety conditions. it is something that we have to do a lot of work on. and, we are working to get the word out. obviously, there are language obstacles and we still have to ork very hard on that. >> what are some the things you are hearing from your constituents? we mentioned the importance of data. i pose this to both of you. what can we do to be sure that we're meeting those diversity needs, meeting people where they are and providing services

they need? >> as i said before, a lot of how we detect the problems and the problems going on is in the field of construction of the restaurant field and the individual complaints that come forward. a lot of labor groups are trying to get done to work more, in terms of diversity and language access, to inform orkers about issues. and to let them know that it is ok to come forward. even if they know the laws and the regulations. there could be immigration issues at hand. that plays into it, as well. they feel threatened. that is why we have to make a plug for the importance of passing comprehensive mmigration reform.

it ties into this. >> that is what i would say. i view my role and government as giving an opportunity to listen and learn from community-based organizations. i think that should inform our agenda and strategy. not just the community-based organizations -- i think we can build a bridge. we are trying to build that bridge with federal contractors o that people with different nterests can come together and nderstand. we really need to do a better job that we know what is going on on the ground. e are regulators and we have a

different role. we need to be informed on a consistent basis across the country about the different issues that affect all of the people. >> i know that you -- there is a large contingent of asian-american workers -- they come from all different backgrounds. what strategies for success have you found? >> in terms of partnership with government and making sure that our solutions are particular to the particular experiences within the different asian communities. when you think about the community, it is a different reality that in the chinese immigrant community. even in the chinese immigrant community, it is a very different takes grants. we have to understand those specificities and for everyone in the community to get specifically engaged. there is a trend going upwards

in our community where more and more members of our community are getting active, mobilizing, and getting it. a member of the long-term care workers union said that they are the most active in every election cycle. half of them do not speak english and are out there doing volunteer canvassing and engaging and mobilizing oters. that is what we have to do to move this forward. >> that brings us full circle to where we started today. we know that the history of the labor movement is about organizing and a lot of it has coincided with ethnic solidarity. that is something that we see today in the united states.

i know that we are running a little short on time. because we did not have the opportunity to start, it is such an honor. it is an honor to be here. it is a really historic moment. i would like to review the chance to say a few words on this occasion and ask for other thoughts that you may have to share. >> i just really want to thank you for allowing me to be part of this amazing occasion. s a chinese-american and, as a daughter, it is so meaningful o be here in this room and talk about the issues and how we still need to go forward on them. this is something that, you know, as you said, electoral participation and civic participation is something that is very important. we talk a lot about -- a lot of people talk about how much and how quickly the aapi population is growing.

i always remind people that we need to make sure that our voting participation, regardless of party and whatever affiliation, the voting participation has to be at a similar percentage. hat is what makes whatever ssues we are working on -- immigration rights, workers ights -- it is not just an aapi issue. these are areas where our community can easily join forces and build coalitions and build bridges as we were talking about. it's very important that our community groups are civic group within each of our communities. i'm from new york. but we are so thankful for the work that you do, because our constituents feel comfortable going to these community groups.

they feel comfortable because of language abilities. we need to make that happen. that's the way we're able to detect whatever problems there are and get the data and ultimately find solutions. i'm just very proud to be here today. thank you so much. [applause] >> any last words for our panelists? on behalf of all of us, it is a onderful occasion. we want to thank the families. we are honored to meet you. i am also honored to be here on this panel as people who are continuing the fight. as the secretary alluded to, and keeping up the good work that the people here on this tage do. > thank you.

i also have the pleasure of introducing our last speaker. we've been talking much the past, the present, for the future of asian workers. we end with norman minetta, who fittingly serve as our secretary of ransportation. their work was unsung, and for many years, erased from the history books, and we end in the modern day with norman mineta, who fittingly served as our secretary of transportation . so these experiences couldn't be more different, yet there are still many similarities. we celebrate the pioneering spirit of the chinese railroad workers.

secretary mineta himself has been a pioneer and path breaker. people know a lot of the already, but i want to repeat his accomplishments. he has a long career as a politician that includes many firsts. the first asian-american mayor f a major american city. co-founder of the asian pacific american caucus. first asian american to serve in the president's cabinet under president bill clinton and later under president george bush. today is also about workers who literally laid the path for others to follow and it is about remembrance and making sure our history books tell our story. here, too, secretary mineta has played a pftal part in our history. during world war ii, and he his family were among the 120,000 americans of japanese ancestry who were forced into enterment. this is a dark chapter in our history, one that for many

decades was glossed over or forgotten. after he became a member of congress, he waged a decade-long campaign to secure passage of the civil liberties act of 1988, which not only official al apologized for and offered restitution for the injustices endured by japanese-americans during the war, but also made provision for education about those injustices so they would not be perpetrated again. for his trailblazing leadership and his contribution to civil rights, he has received the presidential medal of freedom. it's our nation's highest civilian honor. and, for his service to his community and his country, he has garnered the respect and confidence of the american people. he also has the admiration and gratitude of asian-americans and all of us were called to public service in this country. so please join me in welcoming secretary norm mineta.

[applause] >> thank you very much. thank you for the kind and generous introduction and congratulations to you for being the secretary of labor. you work at the domestic policy council served you in good stead for the job that you have now. we look over to your accomplishments. and, to the secretary, tom perez, i would like to say that i have known him a long time. i cannot call him an old friend. he is a friend of long-standing and has an outstanding record as the secretary of labor. he worked for governor martin

o'malley. i'm sorry. do not tell him that i could ot remember. he had a great record with martin o'malley in maryland. so, he brings a great deal of background and experience to the job. the celebration today is an indication of the type of leadership he brings to his job. for me, it is an honor to be here today. especially as this event ties together two incredibly important threads of my life. first, as an asian-pacific american.

secondly, as a former secretary of transportation. my voice is breaking. i want you to know that i am getting over the summer cold. there is nothing worse than a summer cold. i am not going through puberty. i have a summer cold. let me talk to you about these two ties. when talking about transportation, those of us who work in the field tend to find ourselves drawn to metaphors that fit the various modes of transportation that we are talking about. for example, one of the people in this room, a gentleman named by bruce carleton -- wave your and -- is now the president of the national industrial transportation league.

when i became the secretary of transportation and he was the acting administrator of the maritime administration, where he helped me really become on course. there was time when the course was choppy and we got blown off course. bruce, with his hard work, got us back on course. where ever it might have been. the people who work in transportation are used to

it would not be, perhaps, until the construction of the interstate highway or the apollo program that the united states would undertake any transportation program of this kind of size or scope and ision. when congress authorized the construction of the ranscontinental railroad, in 1862, the cost was $136 million. it was twice the size of the federal budget for the previous

year. n top of this, this is undertaken at the height of the civil war. mericans do not give up. we do not get blown off course. at least not for long. so, to accomplish this job, they needed a different kind of infrastructure. people. eople with courage and vision, skill and dedication. when some objections were raised to a hiring laborers of chinese ancestry, the observation was made that china had built the great wall of china and had invented gunpowder. urely they could build the railroad. so, we are here today to celebrate the fact that they did.

more importantly, i believe, is that we are here to celebrate what people can do when they are given the chance to show what they can do. speaking as a former secretary of transportation, i want to express my personal appreciation for the work of the men and women of the united states department of labor. ou spend every day doing everything you can to ensure that people are valued for the work that they do. because, when that happens, there is nothing that cannot be built. i will pay you the highest compliment that a transportation nerd like myself can pay anyone. your dedication to building up

people makes your work the infrastructure of infrastructure. [applause] you look out for the safety of workers. you look out for the wages and kinds of fairness, in terms of people being paid for what they o. i was incredibly honored to meet with the descendents of some of the chinese-americans ho built the first and the greatest infrastructure project. i know that some would be tempted to point out that, egally speaking, they were not americans. they were barred from that status by prejudice.

ironically, that was done in the middle of a war that was seeking to undo prejudice. as an american of japanese ancestry who had his citizenship reduced to the status of "non-alien." when we were evacuated, large placards were put on utility poles that said, to all of those of japanese ancestry, alien and non-alien. as a 10-year-old, i looked at the sign and said, what is a non-alien? it is a citizen. our government, in 1942, would not technology us as to send stuff when is the last time you have stood up, beat your chest, and said, "i am a proud non-alien of the united states

of america?" i don't think you have. that's why i cherish the word citizen. our own government would not acknowledge us as citizens. we were forced from our ome. have acquired a healthy disrespect for the state of the law in past eras of this ation's history. where are the workers that we ather here to honor today? did the law consider them to be americans? no.

the test of history gives the lie to the lie. the united states of america wouldn't be the america we know without them. we should never forget the injustices of the past. we should never sweep those things under the rug. neither should we evacuate the of -- perpetuate the effects of hose injustices. the laborers and workers who gather here today made hemselves americans. they helped us to make america. other people living at the time hey lived did not or would not recognize that fact.

so, again, i want to thank secretary perez and the decoration area -- this deputy secretary. you finally fixed the mistake. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much. secretary mineta, you continue to inspire us each and every day with your service and your work. i'd like to knowledge, again, our other special guests, the croppingswoman, a friend of

mine, is this struggle for workers' rights was begun by asian american men, but it is appropriate that it is living on through asian american women, wonderful pioneers. wonderful pioneers like grace, and it is also appropriate that the two chinese americans who currently serve in congress, one represents new york and one represents california, and that bicoastal link is very much like the railroad that we are ere commemorating. let me thank the participants again. it would not be an asian-american event without a little food. outside, there will be refreshments provided by the department's asian pacific american council, which is an organization of asian american employees.

i would like to invite people to go outside for the unveiling of the plaque dedicated to the chinese railroad workers. i would just, as a courtesy, ask folks to stay seated as the secretary and the descendants of the family members first exit out so they can be at the front. thank you all for being with us here today. [applause] >> you're watching american history tv, all weekend, every weekend, on c-span3. to join the conversation, like us on facebook, at c-span history. >> russia is a nation which believes in its mission, and our missions are pretty similar. we believe in freedom.

we believe in distributing our ore values, which suddenly disappear. but we didn't go anywhere, you know, because at our core, it was too bare. the biggest nation year for us all those years was the victory day. that is our main national holiday. that's what united the nation. and how it was presented to the nation by president putin is that in ukraine, those are western-sponsored professions at came to power, and he traded that with a flag of former ukrainian liberation army who were