Issued January 20, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C — On Thursday, Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, released the following statement marking President Biden’s first year in office:
“A year into the Biden-Harris presidency, we've seen enormous accomplishments—shots in arms, checks in pockets, measures to empower working people and hold corporations accountable—and groundbreaking proposals to invest in union jobs, the care economy, climate resilience and more, all because working people organized to demand bold change. Essential workers and Black, brown, Asian and immigrant voters turned out in record numbers in 2020 to elect leaders to the White House, Senate and House to take action to build an inclusive economy that works for working people, not just the wealthy and corporations.
“In his first year as president, Biden has made COVID vaccines widely available and delivered pandemic relief benefits to families in record time. One of his first actions in office was to reorganize the National Labor Relations Board, sending a message that he was not going to allow the government to be used to further corporate interests at the expense of workers’ rights. He raised the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 an hour, spurring more states and cities to take that crucial step for all working people. He backed game-changing investments in home care workers and people who need care. Along the way, he ensured that working families received monthly child care tax credits, so that parents and child care workers could continue to work their essential jobs.”
“Biden’s list of accomplishments would be even longer by now if he weren’t up against an authoritarian faction that is bent not just on seeing him fail, but on burning down democracy itself. Rather than standing up for working people who are demanding to be respected, protected, and paid living wages, Republican leadership has given itself entirely over to extremists and corporate interests.”
“There’s more work to be done. We will continue to fight—to Build Back Better with historic investments in jobs, secure our most sacred rights as voters and win protections for immigrant workers and their families. We believe that Joe Biden's presidency is critical to the future we have been organizing for decades.”
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The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) unites 2 million diverse members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. SEIU members working in the healthcare industry, in the public sector and in property services believe in the power of joining together on the job to win higher wages and benefits and to create better communities while fighting for a more just society and an economy that works for all of us, not just corporations and the wealthy.