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Exchange of Remarks between the President and W. J. Usery, Jr. at the Swearing-in of W. J. Usery, Jr. As Secretary of the Department of Labor [Ford Speech or Statement]
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Exchange of Remarks between the President and W. J. Usery, Jr. at the Swearing-in of W. J. Usery, Jr. As Secretary of the Department of Labor [Ford Speech or Statement]
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1976-02-10
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1976
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Digitized from Box 21 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 10, 1976
OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY
THE WHITE HOUSE
EXCHANGE OF REMARKS
BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT
AND
W. J. USERY, JR.
AT THE SWEARING-IN
OF
W. J. USERY, JR.
AS
SECRETARY OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
THE EAST ROOM
2:10 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. Vice
President, Mr. Secretary-designate, Bill Usery, distinguished
Members of the Cabinet, distinguished guests, ladies and
gentlemen:
Let me welcome you most heartily here on this
very fine occasion and to indicate to you at the conclusion
of my remarks in the swearing-in I welcome all of you to
join us in the State Dining Room for some refreshments.
There can be no dcubt whatsoever as to the
capability and the ability of Bill Usery to handle this very
important job at this very crucial time. You just have to
take a good, hard look at his impressive credentials, the
record he built up over so many years, in successfully
mediating complex controversial differences between both
labor and management.
Everybody who has had any experience with Bill
in this field, and those who have watched from the outside,
know that he is trusted and respected by labor and manage-
ment, because he understands the needs as well as the
concerns of both.
Bill has had a very outstanding record in the
field of both labor, as well as labor-management relations.
He served for many years as a representative of the Inter-
national Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
of the AFL-CIO.
MORE
Page 2
He was appointed Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Labor-Management Relations in 1969 and did a superb job
in that responsibility. In 1973 he became the Director of
the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and he has
been my Special Assistant for Labor-Management Relations --
or Negotiations -- since the day that I took office.
Bill Usery assumes this responsibility of great
leadership at the Department of Labor at a very
challenging time. As we look at the labor contracts expiring
in 1976, we know that twice as many workers are having
their contracts expire this year as last year.
Some very key industries are involved -- rubber,
auto, electrical manufacturing, construction, as well as
many others.
I think the success of our program of steady,
balanced economic recovery will depend significantly on
reaching common sense labor management agreements without
prolonged major stoppages and without inflationary settle-
ments.
One of our top priorities -- it is a job of all of
us -- is finding more jobs for more Americans. We must
generate real, permanent, fulfilling jobs, not Government
sponsored jobs that make work but do not make a future.
This is important for America, as well as all
Americans. Permanent jobs have to be generated primarily
by a steady, balanced growth of our private sector, where
five out of the six jobs that exist today in our society.
It seems to me as we look at recent statistics
that the steady approach is already yielding convincing
results. We know from the statistics released last week
by the Department of Labor that we now have more than two
million people gainfully employed than we had last March,
at the depth of the recession.
We also know that the largest monthly decline in
the jobless rate in over 16 years took place between January
of this year and December of last year. The record is not
as good as we want it, and the record is going to be better,
but we can be encouraged, and properly so, by the results
of this last month's report.
In the meantime, as we have an unemployment rate
that is still too high, we will continue those proven
job training and opportunity programs, such as CETA, as
we work our way out of this economic problem and as we work
our way to total economic recovery.
MORE
Page 3
I know that Bill Usery has had a very longstanding,
deep and sincere interest in helping unemployed young people,
in helping veterans, and I can assure you that Bill will
give his maximum attention to the whole spectrum of jobs
for Americans.
We have a prime priority, all of us, those in
Government as well as out of Government, to make certain
and positive that our economic recovery program proceeds
with the right focus, with the right energy, and certainly
with the right results.
Bill, it is a privilege for me to ask Chief
Justice Warren Burger to administer the oath at this
time.
(Chief Justice Burger administered the oath of
office.)
SECRETARY USERY: Mr. President, Mr. Chief Justice,
Mr. Vice President, distinguished members of the Cabinet --
and I assume I can say colleagues -- members of my family
and dear friends:
Never in my lifetime have I had a greater feeling
of both pride and humility. To be nominated and confirmed
as the fifteenth Secretary of the United States Department
of Labor is an honor that was beyond my comprehension just
two dozen years ago, when I was still an hourly worker in a
plant in Georgia.
I look forward, Mr. President, to joining you and
the distinguished members of your Cabinet in making every
contribution I possibly can to bring to all Americans a
Government that will best serve their interests and protect
their liberties.
I also pledge, Mr. President, to do all that I
can faithfully to carry out the duties as Secretary of
Labor and that I will do so in a way that will make the
department truly responsive to the needs of all citizens.
Many times during the past few days I have thought
about just how fortunate I have been to be a part of a free
and open society, where with a lot of hard work and a little
luck, too, a person can achieve his or her dreams.
I am deeply gratified by the opportunities that
have been made available to me. In response, I am determined
to do what I can to make the freedom of opportunity more
accessible to all Americans of all races and creeds of both
sexes.
MORE
Page 4
A basic requirement in meeting this commitment is
an economy that can provide employment for those who want
to work. Like all Americans, and as, Mr. President, you
just stated, I have been encouraged by the steady advance-
ment in the rate of employment and the steady decline in
unemployment that has occurred during the past few months.
The drop of a half percent in the unemployment
rate in January, the largest decline in a single month in
16 years, was especially pleasing to us all.
Combined with the recent rise in sales and profits,
the leveling of interest rates, the new help with the stock
market, the increase in the productivity and the return of
consumer confidence, the brighter employment picture indicates
that we are in a position to bring a new vitality to our
Nation's economy.
Each of these plus factors will contribute to the
changes and the chances for peace on the collective bargain-
ing front during this heavy year of extremely heavy
negotiations.
Our system of free collective bargaining has served
the Nation well, providing a sound and just method for labor
and management to resolve their differences. I am confident
that labor and management together will exercise a reason
and responsibility that are necessary to avoid conflict and
to enhance the chances of a more speedy economic recovery.
I pledge to both labor and management my full
cooperation during the critical year ahead. Reality tells
us that with all of the optimistic signs that are evident,
we are still just at the beginning of our climb thward a
healthy, vigorous economy.
The recession did not occur overnight, and a solid
recovery, a lasting recovery, cannot come with the wave of
a wand. There is still much to be accomplished.
As Secretary of Labor, I am determined to take
every action within my power to stimulate the creation of
jobs, to help relieve the hardships of displaced workers,
to advise and train those in such work and to help people
find employment.
While the Federal Government bears a responsi-
bility to help those who are not fortunate enough to have a
job, we must -- as an economic democracy -- rely primarily
on the private sector to reach our goal of full employment.
MORE
Page 5
Of the 86 million jobs in our Nation today, more
than 70 million are provided by private sector employers.
That is where the greater opportunity lies in producing the
millions of jobs that are needed now and that will be needed
continually in the foreseeable future.
While the Department of Labor has a heavy respon-
sibility in helping the unemployed, and in the search for
new employment, it has equal accountability for many programs
keyed to protecting the employee.
For example, the department is charged with
enforcing laws that establish minimum wages and maximum
hours. It is responsible for seeing to it that the places
of employment are safe and free from known health hazards.
It has a duty of protecting the financial integrity of
pension benefits earned by workers.
In fulfilling these obligations, it will be my
desire not only to carry out the intent of Congress, but
to carry it out in a manner that is most practical and
effective for everyone involved.
These programs were created in order that Govern-
ment might serve the people, not that the people might
become servants of the Government.
I will make every effort to see to it that the
effectiveness of the program for the Department of Labor is
not constricted by the complexities and sheer bulk of
paperwork involved.
Mr. President, you have often addressed yourself
to the plight of the victims of Government red tape. A
number of employers are complaining, with justification, that
they are suffocating under a mountain of Government-imposed
paperwork.
The burden has been particularly time-consuming
and expensive for small employers. All of this, I know, is
necessary if we are to fulfill the mission of the
Department of Labor, a mission that is as current today as
it was when it was written some 63 years ago.
That mission is, "To foster, promote and develop
the welfare of the wage earners of the United States; to
improve their working conditions and to advance their
opportunities for profitable employment."
MORE
Page 6
Today, that mission becomes my calling. My
personal knowledge of the dedication of the more than 14,000
employees of the department adds to my confidence that
together we will succeed.
If I might pause briefly, even though we have
many here from the department, we have selected one to
represent us today, and I am going to ask Homer Cousins,
will you stand, who has more than 35 years of service in
the Department of Labor.
We also have with us many other employees, as I
stated, who together we will become colleagues.
In closing, Mr. President, I want to make
reference to a passage from your State of the Union Message.
You said, "Government exists to create and preserve the
conditions in which people can translate their ideals into
practical reality."
Today, Mr. President, my ideals have been trans-
lated into a practical reality, and I pledge to you that I
will do everything within my power to help the Government to
serve others as well as it served me.
Thank you very much.
END
(AT 2:23 P.M. EST)