[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 91 (Thursday, May 12, 1994)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 24883-24884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-11794]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: May 12, 1994]
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Part VI
The President
_______________________________________________________________________
Proclamation 6688--
Labor History Month, 1994
Presidential Documents
Federal Register
Vol. 59, No. 91
Thursday, May 12, 1994
____________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
Proclamation 6688 of May 10, 1994
Labor History Month, 1994
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
For more than a century, the labor movement in the
United States has served as a major force for our
economic and social progress as a Nation.
American trade unionists have fought for and achieved
benefits for all citizens. At the turn of the century,
the average worker made about ten dollars for a 60-hour
week, and more than 2 million children similarly worked
long hours for even less pay. Prior to the formation of
a national labor movement in 1881, safe working
conditions, regular hours, decent living wages, paid
holidays, and vacations were often mere dreams.
Emergency and family leave were almost unimaginable.
The struggle of American workers against these
appalling circumstances transformed our Nation.
Disasters, like the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and
the 1991 Hamlet Poultry Fire, and triumphs, like the
Sanitation Workers struggle for dignity and union
representation in 1968, have played a significant role
in shaping American life. By studying labor history, we
find the foundations of work life in America--the 8-
hour day, the 40-hour week, security in unemployment
and old age, protection for the sick and injured, equal
employment opportunity, protection for children, and
health and safety standards. In addition, labor history
shows that American workers were in the forefront of
the effort to make public education available for every
child.
As an American, I am proud of the accomplishments of
our labor movement, through which we all enjoy better
lives. In issuing this proclamation to observe Labor
History Month, I recognize that our work for economic
and social progress in America is not over. As we
approach the 21st century, the next chapter of labor
history must be characterized by a strong voice for
America's workers. This will include establishing
partnerships of employers and workers, cooperating to
achieve safe, high-performance work environments,
improving the skills of American workers and the
competitiveness of American businesses, and enhancing
human dignity in the American workplace.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim the month of May
1994, as ``Labor History Month.'' I call upon the
people of the United States to observe this period with
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen
hundred and ninety-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and
eighteenth.
(Presidential Sig.)>
[FR Doc. 94-11794
Filed 5-11-94; 10:53 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
