you brought me to the dance. industry to be here. you go.le, -- there good and where is mack? heavyoes all of the lifting. you, man. thanks for having me back. and my buddy rich. you know, rich and i go back a long way. he is the kind of guy, and i am not joking, like all of you. you know, in the neighborhood, you always knew who the person was who had your back. you knew it, and this is the guy who would have your fax. he would have your back in a fight. he would have your back in an argument. back no have your matter what. and he has had my back, and i have had his, and i can't tell

you how much i appreciate it, and i really mean it. you know, it is good to be back. i am almost home. i am further from scranton now than i was in wilmington, but at any rate, it is good to be here. i would like to tell you. you have done a remarkable job here in pittsburgh. labor has been clobbered. me say 15u heard years ago that they flat out declared war. exaggeration,t an because you are the only one with the power to keep the barbarians from the gate. no, no, no. not a joke. without the ability to sit down with the most powerful entities in the world, without that ability to negotiate, without that ability, and there is no

shot, no shot for any american worker. i don't mean labor. i mean any american worker, and, ladies and gentlemen, what happened, productivity, that is what you do. you make their products more valuable. you do it better, you do it cheaper, and you get it out there. it used to be when productivity went up in america, people would share, and they got a piece of the action. they got a piece of the action, butit went up about 73%, yet wages only went up about 9% all of across america. something is wrong, folks. , from end of world war ii world war war -- world war i to 1970, the standard of living went up. manin god's name should a making $50,000 a year pay higher rates than someone who makes tens of millions of dollars on wall street?

i mean, i am serious? by the way, this is not politics. this is real. this is what has changed. what has changed out there, folks, is we cannot let it stand. changes take the place that have creeped in over the last 20 years. they have a devastating to workers. look. i hope everybody in america has a chance to be a millionaire, and we need some billionaires, but let me tell you, man. the tax code is not fair. it simply is not fair. the wealthy are not paying their fair share. it used to be everybody was in on the deal. doing back, everybody chipped in. when we are doing well, everybody was. that is not the case anymore. the 1970's, the top 1% own 20%. today, they own 40% of all of

the wealth in america. they are not bad people. here is the deal, folks. it is set up that way. the tax code has been set up. it is the way everything was secured. back in the 1970's when you were getting started in the steel mills, the situation was that , 26ceo made on average 25 times the average employee. now they make 400 times as much as he a what happened? what happened? did american workers get less productive? every study shows they have been more productive, so, folks, the fact of the matter is we are in a position now -- look. let me give you one example. your republican friends saying biden and obama and all of those democrats, they want to provide free community college to everybody. 12 years is not enough anymore.

14 years is the minimum we need, and they say all that will happen his will raise the deficit. everything is a choice. right now, we give a tax break $110 billion per 10 years to so-called trust fund babies. they do not pay any tax on the value of what they inherent. it stock they inherit, when goes from $10 million to 100 millions. they do not pay that increase. if that increase occurred before they, in fact, were given the stock. you know how much it costs for nine million people in trinity college for free, give them a better chance at a better life? it costs especially in dollars. do you know how much that tax costs? $10 billion a year. we can eliminate that and put everyone in committed to college and cut the deficit by $4

billion a year. folks, it is too high to go into more detail, but here is the bottom line. i am mad. i am angry. because the people i grew up with -- look. we saw too many people in this great recession in pittsburgh and all around make what i call the longest walk a parent has to make up a short flight of stairs to say to their kids, honey, i am sorry. lost her job. dad lost her job. you cannot go back to school or play in the same basketball team at church. you cannot play in the same little league team. move.e to my dad made that walk in scranton, pennsylvania. he made that walk when i was in the fourth grade when i was sitting on the edge of the bed at my grandmother's house when we were living there and said, we are going to move. we have to move to wilmington,

delaware. there are jobs there. everything is going to be alright though. when i get set up, we're going to have you and your mother and your brothers and sisters down. only 156 miles. i remember him saying that. it was like going to the men, but when my dad said it was going to be all right, he believed it. how many people in your neighborhoods, how many people in your own neighborhoods are in kids in can look there the eye and with hearts say, "honey, it is going to be ok. ." is going to be ok not enough, because a level playing field does not exist. our job is to make sure every parent can look their kid in the eye, knowing they have put in a full day's work, and say, "honey, it is going to be ok p or while -- "honey, it is going to be ok."

from a 40 hour week to sick leave. there will not be a single, basic right out there were it not for labor. you built the middle class. that is not an exaggeration. and as you have declined, the middle class has declined. there is a simple correlation. we build labor, we build america. we build labor, we build the middle class. and, folks, let me tell you what i need about middle class. it is not a number. it is a value set. to be middle-class means you have a chance to own your home, not just rent it. it means you can send your kids to the park, and they are going to be able to come home safely, and if you send your kids to school and do well and want to go to school after high school, they will be able to go, and you will be able to pay to get them

and when you get sick, you can take care of your kids and hope that when it you get sick, they will not have to take care of you. so organize, organize, organize. god love you. [applause] mr. biden: we have got to do it. thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

you.iden: good to see are you guys? good to see you. how are you? nice to see you. hey, how are you? hey, guys. hey, guys. good to see you. good to see you.

you are kidding me? how are you? good to see you. hi. ok. thank you. good to see you. hey, man. how are you? good to see you. put his hand out? >> yes, i did. biden: hey, guys. good to see you. how are you? >> thank you. biden: it is like home.

good to see you. hey, man. how are you? how are you? good to see you. hey, guys. how are you, man? how are you? >> tell the guys up front to go slow. mr. biden: good to see you. yes? >> the director -- [indiscernible]

mr. biden: me, too. by the way, i do enjoy it. hi, how are you? hi, how are you? hi. >> thank you.

>> she wants to meet you. >> i have been a democrat my whole life. mr. biden: hey, guys. how are you? it is good to see you. thank you. hey, folks. how are you? it is good to see you. how are you doing? mr. biden: i am doing well. i am doing well. announcer: earlier, president obama was in new england to address the greater boston labor council's breakfast.

this is about half an hour. announcer: ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united dates. ♪ ♪ [applause] mr. obama: hello, boston. well, everybody, have a seat. everybody, have a seat. happy labor day, everybody. this is a day where we celebrate the great and resilience and hard work of american working families, and we start by saying

your mayor, maher walsh, who has stood up for working folks were a long time, since before he you have gotice, two outstanding senators, elizabeth moran in the house -- elizabeth moran -- warren in the house. i brought along trumped perez, who is fighting for you every day. i know we must ask some other members of congress here, i love them, and labor leaders who have , and some of lives them caught a ride with me on the way over. from sdi you. seiu, aft, ufw, billy from my and we havechicago,

got the massachusetts afl-cio up for, and give it everybody at the greater boston labor council for hosting this great breakfast. it is always good to be back in boston, especially when the weather is like this. fall is going to be in the air, students coming back. thursday and i have got a lot of good memories of this city. i was thinking about when i was a student here. truth is, i was in the library so i did notime, get to have as much fun as i should have.

a couple years ago, i stood witness as you showed the world compete withdy can boston's strong, and then there -- then there was that convention that you hosted back in 2004, before i had a motorcade. traffic at logan was a little tougher back then, and you were kind enough to welcome us, and unknown state senator who had a funny name, and it has been 11 years since then. i have added a few gray hairs. i have earned every one of them. oh, see their. -- there. there you go. see, now i really feel good.

but the words that i spoke that night in 2004 are the same ones that generations of americans fought for. that is the believe that america is the most extraordinary of only this a place is country where someone like me can rise to the heights of political office, a conviction no matter who you are or what you look like or how much money you are born into, we can all make something of ourselves. in at a job that ,ewards our work with dignity and we can give our kids something better if we are willing to work for its, and the value of hard work and respect for other people and love of country. in the notion that here america, we're all in it that we are the united

states of america. we are a union. those are the beliefs that built this country. that are the believes built the strongest middle class the world has ever seen. it was not just believes. it was not just words that built the middle class in this country. do more than say america is great, and that is it. you have to work for it. say americaough to is exceptional. you have to prove it. you have to work to keep it that way, and that is what generations of the labor movement have done. hard-working americans who marched and organized to help working families get ahead. it is a hard-working folks who demanded not simply a bigger paycheck for themselves but security for the folks working next to them also. ones who are out in the cold on picket lines.

they were the folks who -- beat orot the fired for organizing, got threatened, for standing up for the idea that everyone deserves a fair shake, and those folks, your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, those of you want who gave us the 40 hour work week. they are the ones who gave us over time and the minimum wage and all kinds of things that folks take for granted. it was those fights that gave us health insurance and social security and medicare and retirement plans. all of those gains are union made. they are stamped with the union label. they are what we celebrate today. [applause] president obama: and those middlethat built the

class, working people's values, ordinary folks' values. that's what has guided me as president. i came in during the worst recession many of us have seen. we have worked to rebuild our economy on a new foundation, to make it stronger for everybody. working folks who helped power our economy to 66 straight months of job growth, the longest streak on record. five-and-a-half straight years, 13.1 million new jobs overall, the lowest unemployment rate in seven years. people,orking thate-class values restored the meaning of the word made in america, made in the usa .

this was flat on the back when i came into office. and now this is more than we had in a decade. american manufacturing had been declining for a decade. , and we knewame in we created 900,000 jobs in five and a half years. that is manufacturing growth. more than we have seen in a very long time. i came into office, business leaders said the best place to invest was in china. they do not say that no more. now, the number one place to invest is right here in the united states of america. have got these we best workers in the world. that is progress. now.

we're entering into political season. i am so glad i am not on the ballot. but it is political season. it starts earlier and earlier, and now we are talking middle-class values. but some folks seem confused about exactly what that means, so let me provide a refresher course. middle-class values 98%s providing tax cuts to of americans and then asking the top 2% to pay a little bit more. that is helping middle-class families. for us, middle-class values means protecting main street from another crisis with the toughest wall street reforms in history that your senators helped to make happen. it means reforming --

reforming student loans and increasing pell grants so a collegecan afford education, and we have to make two years in trinity college free for everyone in the workforce. it means helping 16 millionaire can's gain the security of health insurance. americans gain the security of health insurance. that is what it means to us to have middle-class values. we have got more work to do to make sure more families feel the gains of this recovery, but the fact is that the verdict is in. middle class economics works. looking out for working people works. bottom-up economics works. middle class economics works.

when you make sure everybody gets a fair shot and a fair shake, and you're fighting for andnt wages for workers making sure they have got decent benefits, when you reward people who are playing by the rules, that is how everybody does better. that is how america gets ahead. that is as it has always been in this country. unfortunately, there are some folks in washington and some folks who are trying to get to washington who do not. the matter whether we are supporting working families or signing up folks for health care or anything we do, we keep on hearing back from them, you're going to destroy jobs. you're going to destroy businesses. you're going to crush freedoms. you cannot have a minimum wage for people. it is bad for business, bad for jobs. you cannot provide people health

care. it is going to destroy the economy. in their world, the only way to help the country grow and help loosen up ahead is rules on big banks and polluters, and then you just wait, and you look up in the sky, and prosperity will come raining down on us from whatever high-rise is in your city. the economynot how works. that is not how working people mindset,, and that that ideology is what has been shrinking the wages and increasing the inequality and wrecking the economy for a long, long time. we are fighting to reverse it, but they are pretty stubborn. i will give them credit. they will not let facts or evidence get in the way. they really don't. and then, as i said, republicans in washington are trying to rebrand themselves as the party

of the middle class. i am glad they are doing it, really. like them to start rethinking their positions on issues. i would like to work with them on stuff, but you cannot just talk the talk. you have to walk the walk. you cannot talk middle-class and then do things that hurt the middle class. cannot say you care about working people and then do things that hurt working people. i'll give you anyou have exampl. right now, republicans in washington have a chance to prove they really care about working families. congress has to pass a budget by the end of this month, or they risk shutting down the government for the second time in two years. everybody knows that the world economy is pretty volatile right now. our economy is a relative bright spot. we are doing better pretty much than anyone else, so a shutdown would be completely responsible. it would be an unforced error, a

fumble on the goal line. it would be like a ground ball slipping through somebody's legs. [croud moans] president obama: you have had some since then. if you have not had so many wins, i would not make that joke. budget that pass a does away with the so-called that harms our military and our middle class. we can rebuild our ports and airports and put people back to work right now. i will sign that budget.

but so far, instead of hearing together, we this are talking that shutting down the government due to things that do not have anything to do with the budget. forcing us to do something that would restrict women's health care, for example. that is not a good idea, and you have seen all kinds of proposals that would harm our military start, cutcut head k-12 education. they are still talking about repealing obama care. mean, 56 votes to repeal this bank. everyone says it is working. it is working better than even i expected and is costing less, and they are still talking about repealing it.

we are seeing from them againstconstant war unions. attack on working americans by weakening protections, undermining workplace safety, guiding her ability to save for retirement, preventing you from forming a union. guttin your-- ability to save for retirement. the say they want to be party of higher wages. that is great. but think about it. they oppose raising the minimum wage. they are doing everything they can to bust unions, and then they want to claim to be the party of the american worker. take a look at some of the folks who want to be the standard bearer in the next election. names, butsay their you can attack their quotes to

their names. one candidate, he is bragging about how he destroyed collective-bargaining rights in his state. [croud boos] he sayst obama: and that busting unions prepares him to fight isis. i did not make that up. [laughter] president obama: that is what he said. really? oval bunch of them are hoping to ofe right to work the law the land. they think that is the answer to economic prosperity. and then blaming unions for the women's pay gap. think about that. if there were no unions, women are all going to be paid equal. someone who fought against equal pay legislation in congress. then there was the guy --

these guys are running for office. they are running for the presidency. his said the union deserves a punch in the face. really? tell me how you really feel. it reminds me of something our kennedy -- friend ted used to say. what is it about working men and women that they find so offensive? why are they so mad about folks just trying to make a living, keep a roof over their heads? day, look after rebuild their, community. why are you mad about that? these are the folks who built america. these are the folks who allowed businesses to prosper. why are you attacking ordinary people who are just out there trying to do their jobs?

i've said before, and i will say it again. if i were looking for a good job that lets me build some security for my family, i would join a union. [applause] obama: if i wanted somebody who had my back, i would join a union. [applause] president obama: i have traveled a lot and have been to countries that do not have unions. is where you still have child labor. that is where you have terrible exploitation, and workers are

constantly being injured, and that is true for everybody because there is no movement. even -- have got a union. they had his back. know if brady needs a union, we definitely need union. -- unions. [laughter] [applause] obama: so the fact of the matter is even kids understand this. you are stronger when used in an together. and a job is about more than a paycheck. employees are more than just alled in a wheel -- cogs in wheel. they are folks that big of an extra shift to help out a worker who is in a jam, folks were trying to save for retirement after years of sacrifice, folks

who clocked in every morning and stayed late to make sure the job was done right and then donated some of that money to their church or their ymca. there is a pride and a dignity inherent in any job, and whether you have got the security of the union or not. express thatl help sense of voice to what you do every single day, and i believe that all workplaces should reflect the work and the dignity .f our working families that is why we fought for worker safety. that is why we ought for the right to unionize, and that is why we are hosting next month to make sure that americans share in the blessings of this country in unionsople not need to understand why unions are so important, why last summer we hosted a summit to talk about issues like higher pay and their pay and child care and workplace flexibility and

paid leave. these things are not just good for working women, working families. .hey are good for business, to0 they are good for economies as a whole. the good news is working in concert with members of congress , like ed and elizabeth, we have taken steps to look at issues facing working families, and we have had the cooperation of governors and mayors in a lot of places, 17 states that have answered the call to raise the minimum wage. i've raised wages for federal contractors. [applause] president obama: in june, we looked at overtime, extending protection to as many as 5 million americans who were not giving -- getting a fair shake when it came to overtime.

it is a pretty straightforward proposition if you are working harder and longer. you should get paid for it. i believe that you should be able to talk openly about what you are getting paid and make sure people are being paid the same. that is how we know people are being paid fairly. this is what helped to contribute to the pay gap, so i am working to fight pay secrecy. we are finalizing a rule this week to make sure that what is outare getting paid there, so you know if you're getting cheated. if you find that you are being shortchanged, you should not live in the year of getting higher because you raised your voice. you should be able to present your claim, and i believe that working americans should have the basic security of paid leave. right now, we are the only advanced nation on earth without

guaranteed paid maternity leave. think about that. one study found that nearly one in four working moms return to work with in two weeks of childbirth. think about that. for the men in the audience, think about that. we would not even go to work if we had to carry around somebody for nine months. the human race would evaporate. [laughter] president obama: we could not even take it. [applause] obama: and then the notion that after you have had that baby, you have to go back to work two weeks later? 12% have access to paid family leave.

we have got millions of people illnessot deal with an without risking their paycheck or their job, and there is a proposal out there, the family act, that would deal with some of these issues. we are calling on congress to take a cue from the rest, and find a way to make paid leave, paid family and medical leave a reality for all americans. that is something we should be doing. it is past time to do it. it would be good for business, not bad for business. [applause] and while we are at it, pass a national policy for paid sick leave, as well. right now, about 40% of private-sector workers, 44 million people in america do not

have access to paid sick leave. who have toparents choose between losing income or staying at home with their sick child. victims of domestic violence or sexual assault. they cannot get counseling because they may have their pay docked. let's face it. nobody wants to have a waiter who feels they have to go to work and they are coughing or contagious, but if they do not have sick leave, what are they going to do? they have to pay the rent. that is not good for anybody. fortunately, congress has the power to give the security to all americans, and where i can ask, i will, and, by the way, i did. as we were flying over, i signed a new federal order to a now federal contractors to allow those on the contracts to earn up to seven paid sick days a year.

[applause] president obama: this will give 300,000 americans to have paid sick leave for the first time, and it answers the growing call for paid leave. pittsburgh, silly, atlanta who have adopted -- pittsburgh, philly, atlanta rapid dr. this. you have got johnson & johnson and others who are expanding paid leave. microsoft and others. they support these policies

because they understand it helps with recruitment and retention. it helps you keep good employees. there is one study in connecticut that shows three quarters of companies are on board with their state's paid sick leave law, and here in massachusetts, you are already ahead of the game. fall, the easily approved paid sick leave, and maher walsh signed an ordinance, allowing for up to six weeks of -- maher signed anhe mayor organ allowing for up to six weeks of leave. but that is not a new story here in massachusetts. you are ahead of the curve. there two centuries ago, was the nation's first union of working women. lead theboston helped way to an eight-hour workday.

generation by generation from the textile workers to the hotel workers up today. women, like men and all of you in this commonwealth, stood up for working families. true in is massachusetts is true across the country. you recognize we are stronger together than apart. when we are together, we carry each other up to height we cannot reach alone, and that is what we honor on labor day, and whenever i am with yukon on the -- when i am with you, i am optimistic about america. with two billiard terms ex-president, i know working together, we are point to build a better future for ourselves, our kids, and for working families all across the country. i have seen it. you have seen it, and now we have to make it a reality for

every single working person in america. thank you, everybody. god bless you and the country. ♪ announcer: congressional lawmakers returned from their summer recess, and the senate gavel in to begin a debate on a resolution disapproving the iranian nuclear agreement. congress has until the 17th to vote on the deal. havenators so far announced they have supported it and you cansed, follow the senate live on c-span two. and the house also begins to work on a measure that would disapprove the iran nuclear agreement sometime by friday. follow that live on c-span. now, a discussion with former staffers who worked for president george h w bush. they would like to put their

positions in the white house ministration and how those experiences helped prepare them for their new careers. held at texas a&m, this is [laughter] [laughter]

host: thank you, guys, for coming, and what we will talk .bout is what is happening we will start with you, kathleen. what was the very first job you think thatnd do you job had any influence whatsoever on who and where you are today? kathleen: absolutely. as anrst job i had was

elevator operator, and i say to young people, know your territory, so every senator i got in the elevator, i knew who was testifying, what was going on in the u.s. capital, and you get to know everybody, and if you're the person with answers, there are other jobs and opportunities, so i waited to get my clearances and came down to get the national security staff for president reagan before i got to work for president bush. host: and talk about the rest of it. judy? judy: my first job was at a community food bank, and the role of the food bank was to encourage restaurants not to waste food and to give it to people that need it, and i really complained about the job, complained because it was not , i was not making money

-- that was my first job out of college, but what was really good about the job in hinds is because hindsight because it was a nonprofit, i got to do everything. i learned so much there. i got to go everywhere. i really learned the basics of medications at that office because i had to do everything. speech and seta up the podium, making sure there was water there, take .hotographs, do media advisory it was the best job ever. >> my first job was an internship with republican national committee, because i got to answer some of items. it was really great because like you are saying, i got to see how a lot of things worked, and my

first real job was with congressman jack kemp, and that was a great job for me. i was a legislative assistant. i was writing a brief. there is the legislative digest on capitol hill that the republican congressman use as sort of a summary, and i was one of the people who wrote that brief, which is, once again, a great way to get exposed, and it was also great to work for jack, which would loom orang back. boomerang back. why did you make this decision to stop talking to members of congress and acting like other people and then moving to california? >> for me, i sort of had completed all of my goals in washington, the house, sen