EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY

The Honorable Hilda Solis Former Secretary of Labor Democratic National Convention Wednesday, August 19, 2020 Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Hello, I’m Hilda Solis. The day Vice President Biden swore me in as Secretary of Labor was one of the proudest moments of my life. My parents realized they had achieved their American dream because the daughter of two blue-collar immigrants would make history and give voice to people just like them.

American workers need a fighter now more than ever, and Joe Biden is that person because he has done it before, and I’ve seen it firsthand. He and President Obama made it easier for home care workers to organize. They extended overtime pay to more than four million workers. They saved the automobile industry and a whole lot of good union jobs with it. And when millions of families lost their homes, my friend from California, Senator Kamala Harris, took on the big banks and won.

But because of Donald Trump’s failures, we must once again rescue a sinking economy. Millions of Americans are out of work, and communities of color are the hardest hit. Millions of essential workers are putting their lives at risk with little protections, and millions more are just plain tired. That’s why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris actually have a plan not only to recover what we lost, but to improve upon it, to build back better.

Creating five million good union jobs by bringing back supply chains to America; that’s building back better. Creating millions of jobs by investing in clean energy; that’s building back better. And making sure that working families can afford child care; that’s how we build back better.

So, let me borrow and slightly edit something Joe Biden said at my swearing in. When it comes to expanding the economy for all people, no one, no one is going to be a stronger voice than our next president, Joe Biden.

The conversation you’re about to see proves it.

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August 17–20, 2020 demconvention.com ​