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Women's Lives, Women's
Voices,
Teleconference Overview
Women's Solutions:
Statement of Purpose
March 27 - 29, 2000
Dear Conference Participant:
WOMENS
On behalf of our planning committee and national advisory
committee, I want to welcome you as a participant in this landmark
Solutions
event!
Go To:
As you know, women have achieved an unprecedented level of access
Invitation
to and influence on higher education in the United States in the last 30
Background
years. With this revolution have come many benefits, but also new
voices and new challenges that demand a rethinking of priorities as
References
that revolution continues. "Women's Lives, Women's Voices,
Women's Solutions: Shaping a National Agenda for Women in Higher
Philosophy
Education" was inspired by the need to move beyond access to
Program
inclusion and leadership, and to seek common ground in this
endeavor.
Keynote Speaker
Panelists
We must begin that task by:
Teleconference Statement of
Honoring the past, acknowledging women's participation in and
Purpose
contributions to American higher education.
Caucus Overview
Celebrating how far women have come while recognizing how much
Back to:
farther we have yet to go.
WIHE Home
Reforging the connections between higher education and other
Questions:
[email protected]
sectors in American society.
Identifying the critical indicators for assessing the status of women
in higher education, now and in the future.
Most of all, we invite you to come and think with us. Only by taking
seriously the need for a new agenda will we be able to shape a creative
and equitable vision for women in American higher education in the
twenty-first century. We hope that the attached paper provides a
starting point for an ongoing conversation about the needs, issues, and
solutions facing women as workers, teachers, and students in the
United States' colleges and universities.
Sincerely,
Nancy "Rusty" Barceló
Chair, Women's Lives, Women's Voices, Women's Solutions:
Shaping a National Agenda for Women in Higher Education
Women's Lives, Women's Voices, Women's Solutions: Shaping a
National Agenda for Women in Higher Education
A 200-Year Journey
The "founding fathers" of the United States valued higher education
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as a means of producing male leaders for the new nation. For women,
educational opportunities emerged in the early nineteenth century
under the influence of the 18th century Enlightenment, women's rights
activism, and a changing social and political landscape. Nonetheless,
opportunities for women remained "separate and unequal," and
virtually nonexistent for women of color, well into the twentieth
century. Our current educational opportunities are built on the
stalemates and victories during this 200-year-old struggle for equality.
Women's access to higher education expanded exponentially in the
latter half of the twentieth century, fueled by the social, political and
legal battles of the 1960s and 1970s. Legislative mandates such as
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title IX of the Higher
Education Act and the Women's Equity Education Act, which
explicitly eliminated exclusionary quotas and unequal treatment in
college athletics, professional, and vocational education, were crucial
catalysts.
We have learned, however, that access does not equal equality, that
more complex issues face us now:
Why have some traditionally male fields come to include more
women in their ranks while others have not?
How have the women who have entered them transformed these
fields? How have they remained the same? How have the women
themselves been changed by their experiences?
With college enrollments of women students higher than ever, what
does the participation of women mean to the women themselves and
to their institutions?
Have our goals of access and inclusion changed? Where these goals
have been achieved, how will the next set of goals&emdash;sustaining
change and transformation be achieved?
How do we continue to acknowledge and address women's ongoing
experiences of discrimination and harassment?
How do we deal with the challenges that we face because of the
differences among women?
These questions set the tone for this conference and for women's
higher education agenda in the U.S. in the next millennium.
How Far Women Have Come
While the gains of the last century have not benefited American
women equally&emdash; with regard to race, ethnicity, and
class&emdash;the change in women's overall status is astounding. A
comparison of some basic indicators reveals the transformation:
In the 19th Century... In 1999
In 1900, women's average life expectancy was 48.3 years; women
married at around age 22, and bore approximately 4 children.
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Married women had virtually no separate legal identity from their
husbands, had little right to control their own reproduction
Few women could vote, serve on juries, or hold public office
Women were not classified as "persons" under the Fourteenth
Amendment to the Constitution, according to the Supreme Court.
Women were discouraged from pursuing college degrees, and were
openly excluded from professional schools. Women live an average
of 79.7 years, marry at 24.5 years, and bear only about two children
Women have full legal standing separate from that of their husbands,
should they choose to marry
Prt.
Women have more choice with regard to their own bodies
an
Women are more fully represented in higher education:
33.8%
- 25% of women aged 25-34 are college graduates.
&endash; Women now make up 43% of law students, 38% of medical
students, 36% of MBA students, 38% of dentistry students, and 39%
of Ph.D. students.
Yet, equity remains an elusive goal, suggesting the need for continued
and revitalized activism in the twenty-first century. Sexual harassment
continues to be a problem for women students, staff, and faculty; pay
equity for women faculty and administrators is yet to be achieved;
women are still underrepresented in many scientific fields and often
face chilly climates, and the percentage of tenured, full professors
who are women remains low at 13.6%. (Shavlik, Touchton 1992;
Ginorio 1995) Subtle and not-so-subtle forms of discrimination
remain and will be hard to eradicate, especially for women of color
who face a discriminatory multiplier effect when race and gender
stereotypes combine (Moses 1989; Henry 1994; Howard-Hamilton
1996). Mariam Chamberlain's assertion a decade ago that "attitudes
and behaviors that devalue women's achievements, while less blatant
than before, continue to be manifested inside the classroom and more
widely on campus," remains true at the close of the twentieth century
(Chamberlain 1989).
This conference is informed by the most basic assumption made by
the authors of the Platform for Action from the United Nations Fourth
World Conference on Women in 1995: "Education is a human right
and an essential tool for achieving the goals of equality, development
and peace.
Equality of access to and attainment of educational
qualifications is necessary if more women are to become agents of
change." The primary goal of this conference is to develop an action
agenda for our educational institutions&emdash;and
recommendations for government, community, and business
leaders&emdash; designed to address the inequities that remain in
American post-secondary education. In looking toward the
twenty-first century, this conference will allow us to take stock
collectively of our progress, address the critical issues that affect us,
examine our roles as leaders and colleagues, and formulate an action
plan for women in higher education that both embraces the diversity
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among women and transforms institutions of higher learning.
by
dyn
The Challenges Ahead
this
tot
when
though
Through this conference, we seek to:
you
will
Create networks for supporting women as learners, workers,
teachers, and creators of knowledge
Transform the curriculum and pedagogy to acknowledge and value
the presence of women as learners and subject matter
Share resources and stories of our successes and failures
Challenge established assumptions by revisiting the way in which we
articulate issues for women in higher education
Develop new ways of working together on campuses that are fast
becoming multicultural and global worlds
Share our aspirations for the future and consider ways to move
beyond discussions of equity to consider ways of transforming higher
education
Experience has taught us that the formulation of a comprehensive
agenda is not an easy task. Yet, experience has also taught us that it is
only through inclusive conversation that we can develop a new vision
that responds to all quarters of campus life. Our critiques and our
solutions need to keep pace with the problems that face us. With the
advent of synchronous and asynchronous communications
technology, we now have the opportunity to achieve a scale of
inclusion, diversity of perspective, and democratic conversation never
before possible. This conference is designed to take full advantage of
that potential so we might complete in the twenty-first century the
revolution that was started in the twentieth.
The teleconference broadcasts and caucus sessions conducted around
the nation will cover the topical and geographical breadth and depth of
women's issues in American higher education. Caucus topics will be
determined by each participating site and can include a wide range of
issue and identity-based topics. For a list of potential caucuses, please
click here.
In the twenty-first century, women will have choices that have never
before been available. Each educational and social victory will require
energy, imagination, and collective action. The next wave of feminist
activism in higher education will no doubt take a form we cannot
envision, just as no one at the dawn of the twentieth century could
have imagined the battles and possibilities that awaited them. We
invite conference participants to join us in formulating the questions
and setting the agenda that will plot the trajectory for this unfinished
revolution in the coming century.
**This paper was produced by the National Teleconference Program
Committee, with special thanks to Jane Lindsay Miller, Anita Rios,
and Sara Evans.
10/20/99
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References
Chamberlain, Mariam K. ed., (1988) Women in Academe: Progress
and Prospects. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Evans, Sara. "Women in the 20th Century U.S.", in Harvard Sitkoff,
ed., Making Sense of the Twentieth Century, New York, Oxford
University Press, 2000 (forthcoming).
Foss, Karen A. (1993) Cultivating the Cracks: Using Existing
Structures to Implement a Feminist Agenda. CUPA Journal, v.44, n2,
p. 61-63.
Ginorio, Angela B. (1995) Warming the Climate for Women in
Academic Science. Washington DC: Association of American
Colleges and Universities.
Henry, Wilma, J; Nixon, Harold L. (1994) Changing a Campus
Climate for Minorities and Women. Equity & Excellence in
Education. v.27, n2, p. 48-54.
Hensel, Nancy. (1991) Realizing Gender Equality in Higher
Education: The Need to Integrate Work/Family Issues. ASHE-ERIC
Higher Education Report 2. Washington, DC: Office of Educational
Research and Improvement.
Howard-Hamilton, Mary F.; Williams, Vicki A. (1996) Assessing the
Environment for Women of Color in Student Affairs. Research
Report, Florida University, Office of Affirmative Action, 25 p.
Moses, Y.T. (1989) Black Women in Academe. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Education, Association of American Colleges
Project on the Status and Education of Women.
Pearson, Carol S.; Shavlik, Donna L.; Touchton, Judith G. (1988)
Educating the Majority: Women Challenge Tradition in Higher
Education. Washington, D.C.: American Council on
Education/Macmillan Series in Higher Education.
Rusch, Edith A.; Marshall, Catherine (1995) Gender Filters at Work
in the Administrative Culture. San Francisco: AERA conference
paper.
Sandler, Bernice R. (1996) The Chilly Classroom Climate: A Guide to
Improve the Eduction of Women. AWIS Magazine, V. 25, n5, p.
10-11.
Shavlik, Donna L,; Touchton, Judith G. (1992) The New Agenda
Revisited. Educational Record (v.73, n.4, p. 47-55). (See
recommendations below)
Watkins, Regina M., and others. (1996) The University Community
Where Equity Can Happen: Getting Past the Rhetoric. Chicago, IL:
conference paper.
The New Agenda
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Goal: "Now is the time for our colleges and universities to become
responsive to the values, ideas, beliefs, talents, hopes, dreams, and
visions of women."
Recommendations:
1. Seek a strong commitment from institutional leaders to
understanding and addressing the concerns of female students, faculty,
staff, and administrators.
2. Correct inequities in hiring, advancement, and salary of female
faculty, administrators, and staff.
3. Provide a supportive campus climate for women.
4. Make a permanent institutional commitment to women's studies.
5. Review all policies periodically for differential effect, impact, and
results for white women, white men, women of color, and men of
color.
6. Integrate impact studies into planning processes, whether long
range or short range.
7. Give specific and continuing attention to sexual harassment.
8. Prepare annual reports and five-year reviews on the status of
women.
9. Encourage all members of the academic community, and
particularly those in positions of power, to be aware of the values
underlying their decisions.
10. Develop an institution-wide concern for children and families and
establish policies and programs that reflect this concern.
11. Appreciate the value of diversity. Learning to respect diversity is
essential to understanding both the need for and the direction of
change.
12. Make leadership development and commitment to fostering
women's leadership joint priorities.
13. Establish or reaffirm the commitment to a commission on women.
14. Appoint a high-level person whose formal responsibilities include
advocacy for women on campus.
15. Create a center or programs for the exploration of community and
personal relationships.
16. Examine the sports program for women.
17. Seek more people of color&emdash;women and
men&emdash;and white women to serve on governing boards and
involve board members in discussions about women's access to,
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attainment in, and recognition by the institution.
18. Involve academic departments in a comprehensive review of how
women students and faculty view their participation and how their
participation is viewed by their colleagues.
19. Turn the signs of backlash and animosity surrounding equity
issues into learning experiences for the entire campus community.
20. Build a process of accountability regarding the progress being
made toward serving women well.
Source: "The New Agenda for Women Revisited" Educational
Record, 1992.
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
National Teleconference for Women
c/o Office of the Associate Vice President for Multicultural and Academic Affairs
and Office for University Women
149 Nicholson Hall
216 Pillsbury Dr. S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 625-2385 [email protected]
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
Comments to [email protected]. Last updated 8/1/99.
© 1998 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota.
7 of 7
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Jan
27
'00
14:34
P. 02/03
must
National Teleconference Address
By First Lady Hillary Clinton
(Pretaped for Broadcast on March 27, 2000)
for
Women's Lives, Women's Voices, Women's Solutions: Shaping a
National Agenda for Women in Higher Education
March 27-29, 2000
Welcome to Women's Lives, Women's Voices, Women's Solutions! I am pleased to
serve as the honorary chair for this landmark eventland I want to commend the University ]
of Minnesota for whine the leadership in developing this important national initiative. I
am also glad to see SO many colleges and universities across the United States have joined
participating in this effort to improve campus climates for women and address the status
of women in higher education.
It is very fitting that we are gathered at the beginning of this new millenium to address
issues for women. I marvel when I think about what women's lives were like only a
century ago. We couldn't vote. We were likely to die in childbirth or earlier from an
infectious disease or some other kind of ailment. We were not permitted to hold many
professional positions or jobs that were available to men. And we were not given the full
range of educational opportunities that we now take for granted.
We truly have made great progress over the last century, but there is much yet to do. The
gap between women's and men's wages has narrowed since 1963, when the Equal Pay
Act was passed. But women still bring home only 75 cents for every man's dollar, and we
now have recent studies about the persistence of wage discrimination at the highest levels
of our academic and business world. As the MIT study demonstrated last year, when you
held constant for experience, for tenure, for qualifications of every kind, there were still
discrepancies. Beyond pay equity, there are also many subtle forms of gender
discrimination that still exist in our institutions of higher learning. Just as MIT provided a
1/27/00- Draft - Anita Rios (612-625-3531)
Jan 27 '00
14:35
P.03/03
model for institutions to examine gender discrimination, I urge you to provide a model
for education, business, and government in developing this national agenda and
implementing its recommendations.
As you participate in conference activities and caucus discussions at one of the regional
sites in Minnesota, California Texas and Virginia, or out at a what local college has was or university shed t near what
hasn't
you, I hope you will share share best talk practices franklyat from each of your II institutions none you and develop
naise solutions the both Statuser individual and collective on that will make a difference in improving higher
education to develop As a public new official, so I nitions want to recognize to the bring hard work back that it will 70 take your to campus
implement this national agenda and I look forward to promoting the recommendations
that will be set forth not only for education, but for our business and government leaders.
And Jurge J you tostay.involved. Onlyby
It is in your local caucus sessions where a lot of the important work of this initiative will
take place. I encourage you to get involved in this kind of grassroots activism where the
typefledy
voices of all of US can rise in a crescendo, a chorus to be heard by people who make
training
decisions and move higher education in America forward.
This is an extraordinary moment in history as we begin the 21" century. We can choose
together
to honor the past and imagine and build a better future, or we can allow complacency to
can
set in and close our eyes to the work that is yet to be done. I urge you to be part of
welve
imagining and building a better future!
he hoa
makey
(Running Time: Approximately 3 minutes)
1/27/00- Draft - Anita Rios (612-625-3531)
Hello Everyone,
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University of Minnesota Teleconference:
Women's Lives, Women's Voices, Women's Solutions
Hello everyone and welcome to this first ever teleconference of Women's Lives, Women's
Voices, Women's Solutions. As honorary chair I am proud to join all of you in this important
discussion on women in education. 1 Commend to thank University of Minnesota for its
leadership in developing this event. And I want to thank all of the colleges and universities for joining
their participation in this effort to raise women's voices on campuses, in classrooms and in
faculty rooms across our country.
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Despite women's increased presence in academia we know that there are more challenges to be more
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template?.html
http://wwwl.umn.edu/women/wihe/overview.html
Women's Lives, Women's
Voices,
Teleconference Overview
Women's Solutions:
March 27 - 29, 2000
The national teleconference will be hosted at the University of
Minnesota on March 27 and March 29, 2000 and will be accessible
by any college, university, or interested group with access to a
satellite dish. The teleconference will include:
Live keynote speech and moderated panels
Go To:
Caucus sessions focused on developing clear action strategies
Invitation
conducted at each site across the U.S.
Background
Regional ITV site panelists participating live via satellite
Real-time feedback between panelists and satellite sites, with a
References
focus on effecting policy and further collaboration
Recommendations and implementation strategies to be included
Philosophy
in the national agenda for women in higher education
Program
The University of Minnesota site will also feature a full three days of
Keynote Speaker
conference activities in addition to the live teleconference.
Panelists
This conference is designed to be transformative, having a
Teleconference Statement of
significant, long-lasting impact on women in higher education and the
Purpose
institutions where they work and learn. It will provide a forum for
Caucus Overview
women and men in higher education across the nation to:
Explore ways to access women's talents by building upon the
Back to:
strengths of our diversity, breaking down barriers, and creating
WIHE Home
campus environments that allow all people to work up to their
full potential
Questions:
[email protected]
Develop new ways of working together in a multicultural world
Share best practices and form collaborations and supportive
networks
Discuss how colleges and universities can better support women
as teachers, workers, learners, and creators of knowledge
Create a national agenda for women in higher education
The conference will signal the beginning of a national initiative to
improve campus climates for women students, staff, and faculty
across the country. Developed by a broad base of students, staff, and
faculty within the nation's colleges and universities, the resulting
agenda can be used as a roadmap for institutions that seek to improve
campus climates and the status of women in higher education.
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
National Teleconference for Women
c/o Office of the Associate Vice President for Multicultural and Academic Affairs
and Office for University Women
149 Nicholson Hall
216 Pillsbury Dr. S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
1 of 2
2/8/2000 1:05 PM
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http://wwwl.umn.edu/women/wihe/overview.html
(612) 625-2385 [email protected]
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
Comments to [email protected]. Last updated 8/1/99.
© 1998 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota.
2 of 2
2/8/2000 1:05 PM
7/8/99
In June 1997, you held an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the signing of Title IX of the
Education amendments of 1972. At this event you received a report on progress made under
Title IX, and signed an executive memorandum strengthening Title IX enforcement and applying
Title IX's nondiscrimination principles to federally conducted programs.
Title IX, one of the nation's landmark civil rights laws, was enacted by Congress to eliminate sex
discrimination in all aspects of American education - in the classroom, in course offerings, in the
school workplace, and on athletic fields. Title IX has removed many barriers that once prevented
girls and women from pursuing the educational opportunities and careers of their choice.
Since its passage, Title IX has helped bring about profound changes in the American educational
system:
The number of females participating in high school sports increased from 294,000 in 1971 to
over 2.4 million in 1996-97.
Today, more than 125,000 women participate in intercollegiate athletics. This represents a
fourfold increase since 1971.
In 1972, women constituted 15 percent of college student athletes. By 1995, the women's
participation rate more than doubled to 37 percent.
When Title IX was enacted in 1972, 9 percent of professional degrees awarded in medicine went
to women; in 1996, 41 percent of M.D. degree recipients were women.
Women in 1996 accounted for 43 percent of professional law degrees, up from 7 percent in 1972.
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In 1971, only 14 percent of doctoral degrees went to women. In 1996 that figure increased to 40
percent and the number of women earning doctorates continues to increase.
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Women's Equality Summit at the
National Education Association
Remarks by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
Washington, D.C.
March 15, 1999
Thank you so much. I am delighted to be here in front of all of you. As I look around this
room I see so much energy and commitment and leadership, and it is a very exciting sight to
behold. I want to thank Laura not just for that introduction, but for the work she does every day
on behalf of issues that affect women and men, that affect people who deserve to have their voices
heard to make sure that how they live and the needs of their lives are taken into account in our
political system. And what Laura and her organization have done over the last 20 or so years now
is to help give low-income women the tools they need to become their own best advocates. That
is really our goal here -- to see how we can continue to work together to empower women to make
decisions that are best for them and their lives.
And there are many people who we have to thank in this gathering: Susan Bianchi-Sand, I
want to thank you for your hard work and your leadership; Ellie Smeal and Pat Reuss, for their
tireless work in organizing this Women's Equality Summit. And we are grateful to the NEA, Bob
Chase, and the entire leadership for letting us meet in this beautiful auditorium.
It is very fitting that we would be gathered here at the end of this century that has seen so
many changes in women's lives. I'm just marveled when I think back about what women's lives
were like at the beginning of this century. We couldn't vote. We were likely to die in childbirth
or earlier from an infectious disease or some other kind of ailment. We were not permitted to
hold many professional positions or jobs that were available to men. We were not given the full
range of educational opportunities that we now take for granted.
Although the laws were slowly changing, they had not changed enough. So women were,
in many respects, living in the worst of both worlds when it came to work because the women
who did work outside the home worked very, very hard. There is a great myth about women only
having begun working recently, and until that African American women who (inaudible).
There are many changes that we can all be grateful for, and we can thank those who came
before us. I was privileged to speak in Seneca Falls for the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of
Sentiments. And when you think about the work that those women did -- knowing that they
probably would not see the fruits in their lifetime, that they were advocating for such radical
changes: the right to vote, to inherit property, to be able to be the custodian of one's children in
the event of divorce the things that we now can look back and thank them for.
1
But they were doing it not for themselves, but for the next generation and generations of
women and men to come. Because these issues that we are talking about -- which we will be
addressing in this next year and particularly in this Congress -- which have brought us together in
this gathering today, they do have a disproportionate effect on women. But I want to make it very
clear that these are human issues. And I say that because there is a recent trend in political
commentary claiming that talking about child care or after-school care or the impoverishment of
women on Social Security -- that addressing those issues somehow leads to the feminization of
politics. Now I'm not against that, but I think it is fairer to say that we are attempting to bring
about the humanization of politics.
Now you will hear from three women in a minute who have a lot of expertise and who will
address specifically some of the issues that I'm going to just touch on. And they are three women
whom I admire and call my friends: Secretary of Health and Human Services -- the longest
serving secretary -- Secretary Shalala; and of course, those who follow what happens in
Washington, we know also a crimebuster. The Secretary of Labor who has done a superb job in
bringing to the table issues that affect pay equity and workers' rights and safety and occupational
health -- a woman who served a great position in recent Democratic administrations, but
particularly in the White House during the first term of the President and then as the Secretary of
Labor, Alexis Herman. And Barbara Kennelly -- I don't know if there is anyone here who is
lucky enough to be represented in Connecticut by Congresswoman Kennelly, but for our first
contingent, I'm sure it's represented here. But Barbara Kennelly served for years on the Ways
and Means Committee, and while there she was a very strong advocate for fairness in government
programs, particularly Social Security. And I'm delighted that she has been asked and that she
has accepted the very important position in these times to be counselor to the Social Security
Administration. So we're delighted to have her expertise here today.
I believe that some of you participated in the 1997 Women's Economic Leadership
Summit in the White House, and today those of you who were there and those of you who have
come to this meeting are building on the blueprint that many of you laid out at that important
gathering. And the participants that are here represented by the National Council of Women's
Organizations have a special responsibility because you are really standing in for congresswomen
who couldn't be here certainly women whom you may know, whom you work with, who are in
organizations that are part of your advocacy network -- but you're also standing in for women
who will never know your name, will never know the name of your organization, will probably
not know much about the debate that's going on here because they are struggling vitally to keep
body and soul together. You know, they're getting up, getting kids off to school, getting to clock
in on time, getting to the office on time, trying to figure out what happens when their child care
arrangements fall apart, struggling to be paid equitably for the work that they do. They are there
on the job, building America and taking care of the next generation of Americans, but they are not
fully participating in the political process and they therefore -- as we always have in America --
are going to rely on people who understand them, empathize with them, and can represent them as
you do so well. So this is an important gathering for those who are here, but it may even be more
important for those who are not here, because many of the issues that we are talking about here
2
today are ones that hold special meaning for people who are really struggling, who are trying to
make sure that they have their shot at the American dream in the years to come. And the
decisions that are made in Washington will, in very large measure, impact on how well they are
able to do.
You know, sometimes I am a little bit taken aback and even bewildered when I hear
people talking about politics as though it were the problem of somebody else, somewhere -- when
we know that it is grassroots activism, it is citizen participation, it is the voices of all of us that
have to rise in a crescendo of chorus to be heard by people who make decisions, that really has
always made America move forward. If politically elected leaders were left to themselves, we
wouldn't have suffrage, we wouldn't have a lot of the changes that happened at the end of this last
century and the beginning of this next. Those were not ideas that flowed from the very closely
held power of elected office; those were ideas that came from the grassroots by people just like us.
And it is because of that that it is critical that we once again re-energize the women of America
and the men to understand what it will take to move into this next century with the kind of
confidence and energy that we should have. Because just think about the relative handful of
women and their male allies, at the end of the last century, who made so many of the reforms
possible that we have come to take for granted.
I recently read the galleys of a new biography of the early years of Jane Addams. She
forged a new pattern, along with other women who were like-minded, who fought and struggled
and advocated for legislation that would get children out of factories, give women a decent shot at
a 40-hour week, not a 60- or a 70-hour week. They cleaned up the slums of Chicago or New York
or a lot of our other cities where immigrants were just herded in and tried to be kept in their
places. So there was a lot of work important work -- that was led by, that was given voice by
women at the end of this last century.
I think we have just the kind of opportunity to do that again now. Because look at the
situation we're in. We have a lot of blessings to be grateful for right now in our country. I'm
very pleased that we have the kind of economic recovery that has made it possible to create many
new jobs. I am pleased at how we are beginning to see the fruits of those economic changes really
spread into the lives of people who are left out or marginalized. I'm delighted by what I hear
about the expansion of health care to children that was passed through the balanced budget. I
rejoice in the declining of crime throughout our country because we adopted new strategies and
people work together at the community level. So we have a lot to be grateful for, but that is not
just a time to rest on our laurels, that is a time to say, "Well, what do we do with those blessings?
How do we make sure that they are truly, really, once and for all embedded in the bedrock of our
society, and then made clear that they are available to everyone?"
Well, there are some particular issues that we have to be addressing right now, and we
finally have the tools and the resources -- if we can summon the political will -- to address. Now
what are some of those issues? Well, clearly, the debate about the Social Security system is going
to be one that will have profound effects on how we live into the next century. Social Security
3
was, first and foremost, not a legislative program, not an economic decision; it was a statement of
values. How will we treat people as they age? How will we take care of them in their later years?
What kind of society will we be if we turn our backs on our mothers and fathers and our
grandmothers and our grandfathers?
So we took that value statement and put into effect a program. The Social Security
program is our nation's solemn pledge that Americans can and will grow older with dignity. It's a
commitment that our parents and our grandparents have been able to rely upon. But it is not just a
retirement program, and this is a particular point that I wish to stress today almost one-third of
the beneficiaries of the Social Security system are not retirees, but they are severely disabled
workers, they're children, survivors of workers who've died in an untimely manner, including
millions and millions of young people.
So in a very real sense that statement of values should be expanded beyond what we
usually say namely, that it is a pledge to our older citizens - to really be seen as a pledge that
there will be a family protection system to guard against what a wonderful man some of you may
have known and worked with, Arthur Fleming, used to say, "to guard against the hazards and
vicissitudes of life." And whenever I would hear Arthur say that in his inimitable manner as he
stood on the front lines of social justice for 90 plus years before his death a few years ago, I used
to think about how, as you're younger, you don't think about hazards and vicissitudes often; as
you get older you think more about hazards and vicissitudes. And there are so many young
people who have been protected by and who could benefit in the event of a tragedy or catastrophe,
that may not even know that.
One of the messages that I would like to see us get out through our grassroots efforts is
that this Social Security system, this family protection system, is just as important to someone in
their 20s as someone in their 80s. There are many of you, as I look out, who are more in the
category of 20s than 80s, and you and your friends may not know what the Social Security system
means to you. I've heard many stories about young people who have suffered serious accidents,
or the death of a parent, who have been able to go onto college, been able to have a decent
standard of living because of the Social Security system. Just today I met a woman from Silver
Spring, Maryland. Ruth is a widow whose husband died when she was only 39 years old
something she certainly never expected leaving her with two small children to raise. She now
receives her own retirement benefits as well as a portion of widow's benefits. She's been able to
send both of her children through college.
I met a young man, just 31, who had a debilitating stroke something he never could have
dreamed of. And thanks to Social Security, he was able to piece together enough resources to
keep his family in their home and to keep living as they had lived pretty much before the stroke.
Now I would imagine that there are many such stories in this room, and those stories
should be told. Because it is really by stories that we identify more and learn more about what it
is that we are trying to save or promote or protect. Just saying Social Security may not ring a bell;
4
talking about an elderly relative or a young friend who has had a disaster, by whom we can then
make Social Security seem alive, is a much clearer way to make the point.
There is another way which Social Security is a family protection, and that is that were it
not for Social Security, half of all American women over 65 would be poor. Now think about
that. And what I've tried to do is as I travel around or even sometimes as 1 look out the window
of the car I'm in I look at women and I think to myself every time I see a woman over 65, and
then another one, that one of those two, were it not for Social Security, would be impoverished.
That's a stunning statistic. And it means as I know it would mean in your life that were it not
for Social Security, many of us would be supporting our parents. We would take them in, we
would do what we needed to do to try to provide the resources they required to stay above
poverty, to live as comfortably as we could afford. And that would cause a lot of difficult
decisions in our lives, wouldn't it? There would be many families who would have to choose
between supporting a parent an elderly parent -- and sending a child to college.
It becomes even more pronounced if we add Medicare into that equation, because most
families already try to do everything we can emotionally and financially to support an older
relative in whatever way is necessary. And particularly when it comes to health care we would
certainly do all we could to make sure that a mother or a father or a grandparent had the health
care that was needed. And that would mean an economic responsibility and an economic burden
that we would feel required to shoulder.
So in a very real sense, Medicare and Social Security say to our older people: We're going
to help you remain independent, and by helping to support you because of what you've done for
our country the families you've raised, the jobs you've held, the incomes that you've
contributed to the United States, the wars you've fought we're going to help, as a nation, to
support you. And by doing so, we're going to free up the resources that might otherwise have to
come directly to you from your family, so that they can do what you did raise the next
generation, send their children to college, hold down the jobs that enable them to move forward.
So this is in a very real way, a totally interdependent system. And it needs to be seen in
that way, because once it is seen in that way, then the debate about Social Security is not some
abstract discussion that affects older people, the debate about Medicare is not somebody else's
health care needs; it is how we all take care of each other and how we each fulfill our obligations
to both the younger and the older generation.
And when the President proposed in the State of the Union that he wanted to set aside a
large portion of the budget surplus to preserve and strengthen Social Security well into the 21st
century, it was a way of saying, "Let's take this money that we have been able to save because of
budget decisions tough budget decisions that were made earlier in this Administration and
let's use it to start solving a problem that if we solve now, will be easier and less expensive to
address, and if we wait, will become more difficult and more costly to address." That 62 percent
figure that the President said would be necessary to take from the surplus and use for Social
5
Security would go a long way towards strengthening the system.
With respect to Medicare, he proposed 15 percent of the surplus to help expand and extend
the life of Medicare. And that too is a way of saying to older Americans, "We want to ensure that
your health needs are met." Because, after all, if we are able to expand and extend Medicare, we
will be providing health care to older Americans who are the most expensive people in the system
-- which is just a natural cause of aging -- but for whom the provision of Medicare is getting
increasingly more cost-effective. Thanks to HHS under Donna Shalala's leadership, we are
beginning to really see tremendous progress in getting the fraud and the abuse and the waste out
of the Medicare system. But we already have a very low administrative cost in Medicare. So a
dollar in Medicare actually goes further in providing real services to patients than a dollar in
private insurance where money has to go to overhead, profit, and things like that. So Medicare --
if it is handled correctly can be there well into the future for all of us.
Now that is not the place to stop, however although that will be probably the most
contentious and difficult of the debates we face as we close out this century. But I see it is a
continuum of the work that Jane Adams and others started a hundred years ago to get to that point
where Social Security remains safe and secure, and where Medicare is there for all of us as we
reach our older years.
But one of the ways we could make life easier for women and families right now is to do
more to close the pay gap between men and women. The AFL-CIO just released a report that
highlights the critical importance of equal pay, and makes clear that we all pay a high price when
equal pay is denied. According to the study, an average working family loses more than $4,000 a
year because of the wage gap between men and women. Now that not only hurts women, it hurts
single mothers, it hurts working couples, it hurts families, and it hurts our nation's economy. And
then, in this interdependent web that we are all part of whether we admit it or not, it hurts our
Social Security payments. Because if we don't get paid what we're entitled to be paid, then when
we retire, our Social Security payment is less than it should be. So all of this is connected with
the very fundamental goal of providing economic security to working people and retired people.
The study also found that over half of the two-earner and single mother households across
the country now living in poverty would be lifted out of poverty if equal pay policies were
enacted and enforced at the state level. Now that is a stunning statistic. Again, let's just put a
mental picture in our heads. I have stood at factory gates with people coming to work at five
o'clock in the morning with little babies and pick-up trucks that had to be then driven
somewhere until they could be taken to day care or school. I've been in lots of offices where
young women and older women are working very, very hard, and I've seen a lot of people who
are working hard 40 hours a week -- and still below the poverty line. Now that is something
that should be unacceptable in America. Everybody who works full time should have a wage that
is above the poverty line, and we could get closer to that goal if we enforced equal pay. Now that
is just a simple question of fairness and equity with great economic consequences.
6
Now there is another piece of this economic security pie, and that is what do we do to
make sure that women and men who are raising families have the supports they need so that
they're able to do the best job they can at home and at work?
Now just a few weeks ago, I was in Brooklyn at a YMCA where I had a fascinating and
moving roundtable with six women. There was a single mom there who has really worked her
way up in the corporation where she is employed. She now makes $30,000 a year -- she gets no
child support from the father of her child -- so that is the income that she is using to raise her son
and support herself. Now after she pays taxes and rent and utilities and food and all the things we
have to pay for, she has no money left to afford child care because she makes too much money to
qualify for subsidized care. I see lots of heads nodding. And that is the case of literally millions
of women around our country. And so this woman is in a state of constant anxiety as she tries to
juggle where to put her son and make sure that her child care arrangements don't fall apart,
because she can't afford to lose this job that she has worked so hard to achieve.
Now we need to do better and do more in this country to make sure that every working
parent has access to good quality, affordable child care. And I'm pleased that tomorrow there will
be the introduction of some pieces of legislation. I believe Representative Ellen Tauscher of
California and Representative Ben Cardin of Maryland will be introducing important child care
legislation and holding the first child care hearing. Now I hope that these initiatives signal that
we are going to get some action on this issue.
We're also fighting to dramatically increase after-school programs so that working
families don't have to worry about where their children are in the hours between 3 and 6 p.m.,
when so many problems arise with kids -- the times when more crimes are committed and more
other kinds of difficulties occur.
We're also committed to expanding and extending the Family and Medical Leave Act so
that more working families can take time to care for their sick child or aging parent -- and still
keep their jobs.
Now this is just part of a broad agenda for working men and women, and for working
families, so that we can begin to make good on the promises that the end of this century hold out
to us. I am so pleased that I could be standing here in 1999 before this audience of advocates and
people who understand what's happening in the lives of Americans, and talking about what we
have to be grateful for. But I hope that in the next couple of years we could have a similar
meeting where we talk about what we've achieved on the rest of. this agenda, so that we will be
able to look back and say we have made good on the promise of Social Security and Medicare; we
finally have a system of affordable, quality child care and after-school care; we have paid
attention to our public schools; we have given our public schools and their teachers the support,
the dignity, and the respect they deserve to have to do the most important job.
Now it is never easy, and this is an ambitious agenda. But I am very confident we can
7
achieve these goals. I'm also very sure it will be difficult. But as I look back on this century and
I think about the achievements that have really moved us forward as women, as Americans, as
human beings, I know that it takes concerted effort. I know that it takes a lot of people making
their contributions.
As I read this Jane Addams' biography, I encountered the names of women whom I have
not heard of before, women who are critical to doing things like the first garbage inspection tour
of a ward in Chicago to force the political leadership to clean the garbage up out of the alleyways
and off the street corners; and there was a women who got into a cart every day and she went
around and took notes about where the garbage was. Well, that led to changes in how garbage
was collected. It led to public health changes about how we understood what spread disease and
what hygiene meant. And so I saw the names of people that may not ever have their own
biographies written about them, but who were part of a movement that made a difference in our
lives.
Now we're having at the White House a series of Millennium lectures and events under
the theme of "Honor the Past -- Imagine the Future." Well, yes, we can and should honor the
past. We should especially honor those women and men who were on the forefront of change,
often at great cost to themselves. Think of the names that they were called, think of the isolation
that they suffered, think of the fingers that were pointed at them because they stood up for
women's suffrage or they were the first to try to get a job that others had held before and only
men were permitted. Think of all those people and, yes, let us honor the past. But we also have
an equal and, I would argue, an even greater obligation to imagine a future where the work of the
past and the work of the present combine to create changes that will truly set the stage for the kind
of country and world we want to inherit in and live in. Each of you is playing a role in that, and I
am grateful and thankful that you are standing in the shoes of those who have come before. And
who knows? In a hundred years someone may be standing here, or probably in a virtual room
somewhere, talking about some of you and also talking about all of you -- some by name -- but all
because you have made a decision to help set us on the right course for the future.
Thank you all for having me.
8
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FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
VIDEOTAPED REMARKS FOR U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
SATELLITE TOWN MEETING
JUNE 21, 1996
I am delighted to take part in these exciting conversations
about the future of education, hosted by Secretary of Education
Richard Riley and Deputy Secretary Madeleine Kunin. The
Satellite Town Meetings present a wonderful opportunity for
parents, teachers, students, administrators, businesspeople,
community leaders, and others who are concerned about their local
schools to discuss how we can help our children reach their full
potential.
Today's topic, gender equity in education, provides an
excellent opportunity to raise awareness about the educational
challenges facing girls and young women. While girls begin first
grade with skills and ambition similar to boys, by high school
many have suffered a loss of confidence in their academic
abilities. And far too many girls lag behind boys in higher-
level math, science and technology achievement. Whether it is
lower expectations, a lack of understanding of their learning
style, or gender stereotypes that cause these disparities, we
need to do more to help girls achieve academic and personal
fulfillment.
I am proud that the Clinton Administration has made a firm
commitment to improving the educational experience of girls. The
Department of Education is working to increase the leadership
capabilities of young women and girls by providing leadership
grants. And it is working to improve gender equity in math,
science and technology by training teachers to be sensitive to
the different learning styles of girls and boys. Even more
importantly, the Administration has launched an effort to
encourage greater family and community involvement in education.
Education is the gateway to the American Dream. As we enter
an increasingly global and technological age, it is incumbent
upon us to provide all our children -- boys and girls -- with the
knowledge and skills they need to lead our country into the 21st
century. Thank you for doing your part to make that happen.
###
VIDEOS
Date:
February 14, 2000
Time:
5:30
Location:
459 OEOB
From:
Eric Massey
I.
BACKGROUND
Tamotsu/Fashion Institute of Technology
You have been asked by fashion designer Tamotsu to introduce him at this year's SUNY Fashion
Institute of Technology awards dinner. Tamotsu is being honored by FIT for his contribution to
the school by way of financial donations, lectures and an internship program he established at his
studio for FIT students. This is one of FIT's semi-annual fundraising drives and draws an
audience of about 500 people. The audience includes people from the fashion industry, local
politics and FIT.
You have met Tamotsu on several occasions at the White House and your wardrobe includes
many of his suits. The event takes place on March 1, 2000 at the United Nations in New York.
University of Minnesota Women in Higher Education Teleconference
As Honorary Chair of the University of Minnesota's teleconference on Women in Higher
Education you have been asked to provide opening remarks on the importance of the conference
as well as the status of women in higher education. The role of the conference and the ensuing
break-out sessions is to shape a national agenda on how to overcome the barriers that still exist
for women (students and teachers) in universities. Issues ranging from equal pay to tenure.
While the University of Minnesota is hosting the conference, schools from around the country
will be plugging to participate in via satellite. The anticipated audience number is at 1000.
Your video will open the conference, which is taking place on March 27, 2000.
World Bank Girl's in Education Recognition Reception
On February 28, 2000, the World Bank's division of Education will be holding an awards
reception at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in DC to recognize the progress developing nations have
made in Girls' Education. They have asked that you record a video greeting to congratulate the
countries and to talk about the importance of girls' education around the world. Your video will
most likely open the program and play to an audience of 350 people.
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton Videotaped Introduction
of Designer Tamotsu at the 2000 FIT Awards Dinner
New York, NY
March 1, 2000
When I was asked to present Tamotsu with this award, I was truly honored - and truly
delighted. Like so many of his fans, one of the reasons I love wearing Tamotsu's clothes is not
just because I love his designs, it's because I admire him as a person. Every time I meet him, I
am reminded that you can't separate the understated style, charm and elegance of his clothes
from his personality. They're one in the same.
We're here tonight not only to salute his timeless designs, but to salute his commitment
to FIT, to education, and to those designers yet to come. In this industry, one of the best ways to
learn is through mentoring. No one knows this better than Tamotsu. Every year Tamotsu opens
his door to FIT students and invites them to work and learn at his side. And by example, he is
inspiring a new generation of designers to carry on his tradition of excellence, humility and hard
work, and quality craftsmanship. And for that we owe him our deepest gratitude.
So ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce my friend, and one of the
world's most admired designers, Tamotsu.
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton Videotaped remarks for the University of Minnesota
Teleconference: Women's Lives, Women's Voices, Women's Solutions
Minneapolis, MN
March 27, 2000
Hello and welcome to "Women's Lives, Women's Voices, Women's Solutions." I am
pleased to serve as honorary chair for this landmark event and I commend the University of
Minnesota for leading this important national initiative. I am also delighted that so many
colleges and universities across America have joined forces to envision and build a better future
for women in higher education.
I am always amazed when I think that the history of women in higher education is a
relatively short one. Just a century ago, it would have been difficult to find more than a handful
of women in academia. And it wasn't until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX, and so many
other triumphs of that era that women by the millions started taking their rightful places on our
college campuses.
How we have made up for lost time! Today, more than half of all college graduates are
women. Four out of 10 law and medical students are women. More than a third of business
school students are women. And one in three professors on college campuses today is a woman
- that's the highest level it's ever been.
But we all know that there are still more doors to be opened and more glass ceilings to be
shattered. We know that even today, working women still make 75 cents for every dollar earned
by men. And as the MIT study showed us last year, the pay gap is not a myth - it is a very real
problem on our college campuses. We know that the ranks of tenured professors aren't what
they should be either -- less than 14% of all full professors are women. So we cannot rest until
we've conquered gender discrimination in all its forms. Until women everywhere can reach
their greatest God-given potentials in the classroom, in the workplace, and at home.
That is why this conference -- and your participation -- are so vital. I hope you will share
freely your experiences and your thoughts about what has worked and what hasn't to address the
concerns of women as workers, teachers and students on our college and university campuses.
And I wish you well as you incorporate all these insights and ideas into a national agenda for
women in higher education in the 21st Century.
I urge you to stay involved. Always remember that progress begins at the grassroots -- among
citizens committed to making their voices heard. Together, we can make a difference and build a
better future for women and for our country. Thank you and have a great conference.
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton Videotaped Remark for the World Bank's Girls'
Education Recognition Awards
Washington, DC
February 29, 2000
Good evening. I am delighted to join the World Bank in welcoming all of you to the Girls'
Education Recognition Awards. I only wish I could be there in person to congratulate all of you
and especially tonight's honorees, the District Primary Education Program in India and the
Female Secondary School Assistance Program of Bangladesh, for raising girls' voices in
classrooms and communities around the world.
Your work has made it clear: When we educate a girl, we improve the health and life expectancy
of women and their children. We decrease poverty. And when we educate a girl today, we are
creating a leader tomorrow. A leader in the family, community, and country. A leader who is
maybe a teacher, a doctor, or a mother of a healthy and educated child. A leader who is working
hard to lift up her life and the lives of her family.
As the World Bank has often said, in developing countries today, education provides the highest
rate of return of any investment. And that is especially true of girls' education. I have had the
privilege of seeing this first hand. In Morocco, I have visited villages where teachers were
working very hard to persuade more parents to enroll and keep their daughters in school. In
Guatemala, I heard about afternoon school sessions to accommodate girls who have domestic or
agricultural work in the mornings. And in Nepal I visited a school for former child laborers, who
were learning to read and write for the first time in their lives.
Clearly we have a lot to celebrate. But our work is not yet done when 90 million girls are out of
school. It is not yet done when 900 million people are illiterate, and more than half of them are
women. And our work is not yet done when girls still drop out of school at a much higher rate
than boys. You have shown us the obstacles that keep girls from their educations and their
dreams. Some are cultural. Some are economic. Some are legal. All of them can be overcome
if we come together - just as you have done today.
So, thank you all for working tirelessly to give every girl the chance to live up to her God-given
potential. Thank you for making it clear that we can only strengthen communities and nations if
we educate girls and women. And thank you for all you've done - and all you will do - to
ensure that no girl will ever be left behind in our 21st century.
Congratulations again to tonight's honorees. I hope you all have a wonderful evening.
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February 14, 2000
Greeting for the American Income Life Insurance Company's (AIL) Labor Advisory
Board
Date:
February 16, 2000
Location:
Fairmont Hotel, New Orleans
From:
Neera Tanden
Kara Hughes
I.
PURPOSE
To tape a video greeting to the American Income Life Insurance Company's (AIL) Labor
Advisory Board to be broadcast at their annual convention.
II.
BACKGROUND
Background
The American Life Insurance Company's (AIL) Labor Advisory Board invited you to address
their annual convention and deliver brief remarks.
American Income Life Insurance Company (AIL)
American Income is recognized as one of the significant carriers of supplemental insurance in
North America. Headquartered in Waco, Texas, American Income is licensed in 49 states, the
District of Columbia, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and New Zealand with plan to
expand to other overseas markets. Ranked among the top 100 individual life insurance
companies in the country, AIL's annual life premium exceeds $205 million. In addition, AIL
pays out more than $71 million in life and health benefits to policyholders and their
beneficiaries.
AIL Labor Advisory Board
The All Labor Advisory Board works to provide substantial financial assistance to labor and
labor-related causes, and develops programs to best meet the needs of union members and their
families. Membership of the Advisory Board constitutes neither an endorsement of American
Income Life Insurance nor its products. As an obligation for membership, the Board is asked to
provide guidance on how All can serve the best interests of their respective members and the
labor movement. Labor Advisory Board members recognize that AIL is a fully organized, 100
percent union company that offers supplemental insurance plans primarily to union members.
All is honored to be among those "all-union" companies cited by the AFL-CIO Union Label
and Service Trades Department.
Bernard Rapoport is the Chairman and Founder of AIL and President of the AIL Labor Advisory
Board.
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III. PARTICIPANTS
The audience will consist of American Income Life Insurance Company employees, AIL Labor
Advisory Board members and related labor leaders.
AIL Labor Advisory Board Greeting
Hello everyone - and thank you for giving me this opportunity to join the members of the
American Income Life Insurance Company's (AIL) Labor Advisory Board for this important
gathering in New Orleans. Let me begin by sending a special greeting to my friend and your
chairman, Bernard Rapoport, and to the members of the AFL-CIO Executive Council who are
with us today.
The AIL Labor Advisory Board is a testament to the vitality, the strength, and the future
of the modern labor movement in America. Every day, you set an example as to how labor and
business can work together on behalf of our families. I thank you for your unparalleled
commitment to working families.
And I thank all my labor friends who have supported my candidacy for the United States
Senate from New York. As I said at my announcement speech earlier this month, I believe that
politics is the art of making possible what appears to be impossible. We can do what seems
impossible if we have the vision, the passion, the will to do it together.
And we've seen what's possible in the progress we've made over the last 7 years. Thanks
to you and all those who stood together, we have the lowest unemployment rate in a generation,
the lowest welfare rolls in 32 years, the lowest poverty rate in 20 years, nearly 20 million new
jobs, and the longest peacetime economic expansion in history.
Because of your leadership, we've raised the minimum wage. We've lowered taxes for
millions of low-income working families by doubling the earned income tax credit. We've put
Family and Medical Leave on the books.
I am proud and grateful to have been a part of all this progress. I've spent 30 years trying
to improve the lives of our working families. And I am convinced we can move on from here to
meet all the challenges that lie ahead. We can strengthen our families. We can protect our
children. We can improve our schools. We can provide health care and good jobs to all our
citizens.
I am running for the United States Senate because I believe we can do all this together. I
believe that when people live up to their responsibilities, we ought to live up to ours to help them
build better lives. It's the "basic bargain" we owe one another.
That's why I'll be on your side in the fight to fulfill that basic bargain.
I'll be on your side in the fight for a real increase in the minimum wage, an expanded
Earned Income Tax Credit, and equal pay for every woman in every job.
And I'll be on your side wherever and whenever there's a fight to strengthen the labor
movement. You can count on me in any effort to bring union members and businesses together
to boost, our economy and improve the lives of working families.
So I thank all of you for your commitment to the issues we care about. I thank you for your
support. And I look forward to working with all of you in the months to come.