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" I've learned that it's important to listen to employees at all levels, to engage them, to empower them. Whether you're a first-line supervisor or the head of an entire agency, you should be asking career staffers, 'What do you think?' "

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" It's time to update our workplace policies to reflect the realities of the 21st-century labor force and to support modern working families. It's time to continue our nation's long commitment to supporting unemployed workers by extending emergency unemployment compensation. "

Thomas E. Perez

Commitment

Time

Support

" Everything has changed in recent decades - the economy, technology, cultural attitudes, the demographics of the workforce, the role of women in society, and the structure of the American family. It's about time our laws caught up. We watch 'Modern Family' on television, but we're still living by 'Leave It To Beaver' rules. "

" We need to do more to support working families, like guarantee access to paid sick and parental leave and make sure every parent has access to quality, affordable child care. "

" We have to invest in people if we're going to have a country where every person can participate in our economy and share in our prosperity, and we have to break down the many barriers that stand in their way. "

" Each year, Labor Day gives us an opportunity to recognize the invaluable contributions that working men and women make to our nation, our economy and our collective prosperity. It gives us a chance to show gratitude for workers' grit, dedication, ingenuity and strength, which define our nation's character. "

" Public service has allowed me to put values my parents taught me into action. "

Thomas E. Perez

Parents

Values

" The best way to promote and protect opportunity is through collaboration, consensus-building, and pragmatic problem-solving. Throughout nearly 30 years in public service, I have approached tough challenges by making room for as many people as possible around the table in search of common ground. "

" Misclassification means workers are denied not just minimum wage and overtime but other social safety net protections like workers' compensation and unemployment insurance. "

Thomas E. Perez

Insurance

Safety

" Historians have often censored civil rights activists' commitment to economic issues and misrepresented the labor and civil rights movements as two separate, sometimes adversarial efforts. But civil rights and workers' rights are two sides of the same coin. "

" A secure retirement is one of the pillars of middle class life. For all too many Americans, however, that pillar needs more support. "

" Of all the tough decisions in life, choosing between the job you need and the family you love should not be one of them. "

" Community colleges provide higher education where people live, helping to build strong ladders of opportunity that allow people to secure a foothold in the middle class. "

" When the federal government imposes a mandate on the states or supersedes a state policy, conservatives often rise in protest. "

" The Department of Labor's final conflict of interest rule will ensure that America's workers and retirees receive retirement advice in their best interest. "

" With patience, persistence, and partnership, we can create economic opportunity for every person willing to work hard for it. "

" Discrimination is not a national defense strategy! "

" Dr. King's last campaign was a labor struggle. Many people are aware that King was assassinated in Memphis in the spring of 1968. Less well-known is what drew him there: solidarity with city sanitation workers, who, without the benefit of union representation, were rising up to protest humiliating pay and deplorable working conditions. "

" On July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act. Its enactment, following the longest continuous debate in the history of the U.S. Senate, enshrined into law the basic principle upon which our country was founded: that all people are created equal. "

" When you work extra, you should be paid extra. That's what the Fair Labor Standards Act said. And I've met so many people who are working 60-70 hours a week, and they are effectively working 20 hours for free because they are making a little bit above the minimum wage, because the 2004 regulation enables employers to do that. That's not fair. "

" I think one of the most important things we can do for people is to expand opportunity - whether it's the opportunity to live a life free of discrimination or the opportunity to get a good job that provides a gateway to the middle class. I've dedicated my career to expanding opportunity, and it's proven incredibly rewarding. "

" I've heard the argument that unemployment benefits somehow act as a disincentive to the long-term unemployed when it comes to looking for work, but the opposite is true. Unemployment insurance serves as a powerful incentive for people to keep searching for jobs rather than drop out of the labor force altogether. "

" My parents both came to the United States from the Dominican Republic, and they were deeply grateful for the opportunities this country provided. They raised my siblings and me to want to make a difference and give back. They taught us to work hard and aim high, but to also make sure the ladder was down to help others climb up. "

Thomas E. Perez

Work

Parents

" King had come to Memphis to lend his moral authority to the struggle of striking municipal sanitation workers who were overwhelmingly African-American. They earned poverty wages, endured degrading working conditions, and faced brutal beatings when they tried to organize. "

" I believe we're making a mistake if we regard job creation and job safety as mutually exclusive or inherently in conflict; they can and they must go hand-in-hand. We must look for the win-win solutions that create more opportunity for everyone. "