My name is mark trumbull, economy editor of the Christian Science monitor. Welcome to our guests. Todays guest is liz schuler of the aflcio. She is the president of the Labor Federation and we are very glad to have you with us again as another Labor Day Weekend rolls around. A little background, president schuler grew up in a union household. Her father was a power lineman and longtime member of the electrical workers local 125 at Portland General Electric in oregon. Her mother worked in the companys service and design department. Ms. Schuler attended the university of oregon and i might insert my own go ducks here, since that is the alma mater of my fatherinlaw. During college, ms. Schuler worked summers at the electric company. I would say her life since then is testament that there can be a future for people who earn journalism degrees. After graduation, she returned to Portland General Electric to organize workers who were in nonunionized, clerical roles, like her mother. She then went on to lead other organizing efforts for the International Brotherhood of electrical workers in both oregon and california. In 2000 nine she became the first woman to serve as aflcio secretarytreasurer. The federations number two official. And now she stands as the first woman to be elected president of the aflcio in the organizations roughly 6060 year history. Again, welcome. Now, just some brief ground rules. We are on the record here. Please, no live blogging or treating treating. No filing of any kind until the breakfast is over. Once the session and set about 10 00, there is no embargo. We will email a rough transcript from this breakfast all reporters shortly after we conclude. As many of you know, if you would like to ask a question, you can send me a signal and i will call on you in order. Now, president schuler, if you would like to make some brief opening remarks, we would welcome that. The floor is yours. For along time, my predecessor did this breakfast. It was my first or second week as president last year when i attended this breakfast. I was what they call, a deer in headlights. This year we are in a different place. I want to thank you for inviting me back. I want to thank all the working people in the room behind the scenes who are making this breakfast happen as well. This is an incredible moment to be leading the American LeagueAmerican Labor movement. Movement. It is very personal to me. You alluded to my family story. My family story is similar to so many families where it really was Union Membership that created the stability and pathway to a better life for me and my family. My dad grew up in a one room fruit picking shack in hood river, oregon. He and his siblings often went hungry. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the marine corps and went straight to vietnam. When he came back, he returned to oregon, he found a job as a whole bigger. Back in the days where power pole holes were dug by hand. At Portland General Electric. It was a power linemans apprenticeship that put him on the path to a good union job. That changed everything. In one generation, our family had a roof over our head, enough to eat. Such a different experience from what my father had growing up. That is the power of the union. That is what ibew 125 meant to my family. From my daddy, i learned the value of a union card. My mom also worked at the company. And i worked there. We were both Clerical Workers. We didnt have a union, the power lineman did. That difference was what showed me that in addition to good pay and good benefits, it also meant dignity, respect, having a voice, being heard. That is how i got my start. We started organizing Clerical Workers at the company and it really is about having oneonone hundred stations, which we are hearing so much about these days, the importance of talking to each other facetoface. That is what Union Organizing is. Many of the women i worked with, the Clerical Workers, that is what we did. We started having oneonone conversations about a fair work base. I learned how to organize from my mom. She was one of the fiercest organizers. She got called to the ceos office for a oneonone meeting during that drive. Fast forward to this moment, today, an historic moment for organizing. Millions of people want to join a union and they are organizing unions across industries across the country. There have been historic investments in clean energy, technology, infrastructure, we are coming off this wave of activity in congress that is going to lead to a competitive economy. Sustainable environment and the promise of good quality jobs. Our democracy is at a crossroads. Will be build a more inclusive and responsive democracy . Or will be allowed ourselves to be divided . For each of these opportunities and challenges, there is one response, one constant, unions. Since i was here last, you may remember we had strike tober. Workers everywhere from nabisco to john deere were rising up, using their collective power on the picket lines to ask for more. The momentum has only build from there. For every story you hear about working people organizing and joining together to form unions at amazon or starbucks, there are six or seven or more stories in other industries. Just this summer, over 100 nurses at a hospital in coral gables, florida organized. Rei workers in the bay area won. Painters have organized in shipyards in alaska and louisiana. Aircraft mechanics in north carolina, five hundred 50 researchers at Mount Sinai Medical School have organized a union in new york city. 500 auto workers in michigan, 200 Hotel Workers in austin, texas won an organizing drive. Hundreds more in places you would never expect. Museums, Cultural Workers in los angeles, baltimore, new york, even hundreds of workers in the new industry, the cannabis industry. I always get a snicker when i mention cannabis. I am from morgan, yes i know. They have come together to form unions. This is so unexpected, so surprising and it shows that there is no industry or workplace that a union does not belong. It is every type of job. Working people, the reason they are organizing and numbers are so high is because they are tired of being called essential one minute coming out of the pandemic, then treated as expendable the next. They are tired of working more and getting less in return. While their bosses collect bigger paychecks and buy rockets. They are connecting the dots and realizing that together they have the power to fight back. You dont have to just sit back and take it. Gallup just released their latest polling. You all probably know this, i am in a room with very educated people. But, that poll found that a record high 71 of people in this country support unions. I have to tell you when i am on picket lines or i am talking to organizers, there is an energy and a drive unlike we have seen among working people in a generation. What keeps me going everyday is hearing from them and bringing their voices into these conversations, keeping my finger on the pulse of what working people are thinking and feeling. We need, in this moment, to bring as many people as possible from the margins of the economy to the center. Making sure that women and people of color are helping drive our agenda because they are the future of our workforce. We need to build a Labor Movement that is modern as modern and dynamic as our work laces. The needs of working people are going to be different as work is changing and technology evolves. The Labor Movement has to evolve with it and we have to grow the number of people in unions so that working people are driving the future, not just ceos. That is why growing the Labor Movement is the first goal coming out of our convention we announced the center for transformational organizing. Our baseline goal is to organize one million new workers. We know that growing the number of people in unions is going to create the power balance we need to fix our broken economy. The cto is going to be the place, the center of gravity, where we make those plans for growth together, where we are bringing the power of all of our unions and landing on specific goals. That is where we will get out of our silos and build a movement that is taking on very specific goals together. Particularly in nonunion areas of the economy like gig work, amazon, the Clean Energy Economy. We are also taking that same all in approach on organizing to our political work. I know everyone here is anxious to talk about the election. But, we have been in the business of one, facetoface conversations since our inception. People are recognizing the power of those tactics that really come in this moment where everyone is so polarized and divided, the only way you breakthrough is by talking to each other. It sounds so old it is new. That is the way you breakthrough the noise. When it comes to the midterms, we are not only because we know how to do this, but we are uniquely positioned to make a winning difference because we have this infrastructure that no one else has. We have a network of state aflcios, Central Labor Councils in three zip code in the country. We are taking that network and turning it up to 11, as they say. Working people are reclaiming their power. Everywhere from the workplace to the ballot box. We are organized and we are ready to win. With that, i appreciate the time and look forward to having a conversation. Wonderful. I will start with a question or two and we will open it up. You mentioned the health of our democracy being at stake i wondered, this is a broad question, but what do unions, what can they bring . What can you bring that connects the dots from Economic Health of workers to the Political Health of our country . How do you see that working . As part of that, is there something to do with the fact that the middle class seems to be smaller as a share of the whole society, than it was way back 50 years ago . We would argue thats because Union Density usually tracks the health of the working economy. Your question is timely because you are right. People are angry, frustrated, set up. The economy is broken and that is translating into our politics. We are seeing that frustration manifests itself in the way people respond in elections. We would say that unions are a pillar of a healthy democracy. We see it around the world, unions have always been a bedrock, the foundation of a healthy economy and healthy society. As unions get stronger, our democracy gets stronger. Our fundamental role and responsibility is to educate our members and all working people about how to balance the scales of the economy by coming together collectively. When you come together collectively, you have more power both in your work lay send your ability to influence those decisions made on capitol hill. I think we saw that demonstrated in this last year alone with the investments that have been made in congress. It is because working people demanded it. In the last election, they made it clear what they were looking for. They want more investments in clean energy to grow a stable future and create good jobs. They wanted investments and things Like Health Care my hate safety and health on the job. Coming out of a pandemic, it could not be more important. They are deeply connected, but the Labor Movement is uniquely positioned to reach real working people and actual workplaces across the country. We can be the messengers. We can be a trusted source for information and help people connect the dots between their frustrations and actually how to make the change they desperately want in their politics. Ok. Followup, you mentioned strong polling numbers. Your favorability overall. Yet, theres a lot fewer people in unions than there used to be. Is there something that unions the cells need to do better to make this case that you are making, that it is time to rebuild them . We are always looking in the mirror, trying to be more effective and more relevant to working people and what they need and deserve. Especially as the workplace is changing. We need to be more dynamic, modern and inclusive to reflect the changes happening in the work waste. I also believe that the fundamentals of our labor laws are so broken that that is mostly the root of the issue. Why so many people want to and support unions, yet have trouble joining them. We know that the law of the land, the National Labor relations act encourages unionization. It is a fundamental right in this country to be able to join the union freely. However, that has been chipped away at overtime and has been tilted in favor of corporations who do not want to see people form unions because they perceive it as a threat to their ability to run their business for their bottom line. What we need is to reform our labor laws so that it actually gets back to the spirit of the National Labor relations act and give people the rights they deserve into the voice they deserve in the workplace. Be able to freely join unions so that if you see a partner at starbucks, that they are truly treated as a partner and enable to form a union. Our little legislation we have been backing, the proactive. For a number of years, we talked about it last year. It reforms the law so that it makes the intimidation tactics and the hostile environments that companies create illegal so that employees are not forced to sit and listen to antiunion propaganda against their will. They are not fired for the basic exercising of basic rights. Which we see in campaign after campaign. I am so glad you all are covering starbucks and amazon the way you are because it has shined a light on the tactics that have been happening for decades. The fact that there are unionbusting consultants, hired to harass people and intimidate them. We have seen it time and time again. Labor law reform is the key ingredient here to enable people to join unions without fear. Of course, we are constantly looking for the Labor Movement to be more responsive to the needs of working people as we modernize our economy. Grade. Now we will go to neil. [indiscernible] [indiscernible] it is a bit of a political question. The president is going to the president is going to wisconsin and pennsylvania on monday on labor day for labor related events, something you said about how youre having success in organizing in places that are not traditionally where you would think they would be uh leaves the question of how do you deal with the likelihood that the membership of the unions in some of these places where there are not traditionally unions may not be democrats, they may not be people who would traditionally be biden voters or people who youre going to gotv for democrats in november. How do you deal with the membership that may not look lyrically, there other political positions that may not politically aligned with the Labor Movements goals are at the federal level. Liz well, that is a question that i think speaks to the moment were in in our country where, you know, we have a lot of divergent views and in fact, were pretty polarized as a country. I would say the Labor Movements membership, you know, kind of exit similarly. Kind of tracks similarly. We have members that certainly will disagree with candidates that perhaps have been endorsed at the local level. But those are democratic processes, right . The members on the ground that actually make those decisions they deliberate based on the issues and where candidates stand. And thats the one thing i hope you take away is that we are an issues driven organization. We dont put candidates first, we put workers first and we look through the lens of working people when were identifying the issues that we measure those candidates against and it happens to be that President Biden, who is a democrat has been very much a pro union president. So we are proud of the track record that he has had and his administration has had. That translates down at every level, you know, from city council to congress and the added state sentence. Through an issues based lens. So what i would say to a member that perhaps is unhappy that a democrat is endorsed, is to look at whats underneath that look beyond the party label and look at the issues that we are measuring against. And so is that candidates supporting raises in the minimum wage, is that candidates supporting stronger safety and health protections, osha protections, you know, is that candidate actually supportive of collective bargaining and in forming unions, and thats usually where we fall off, right, is that many republicans disagree with the fundamentals of collective bargaining and being in a union. And so how do you support candidates that disagree with your very existence . What we try to do is be very objective and and an issues based approach, and we can talk more about that as we go here, but we are taking a different approach this year and that we are not flying in, you know, from the National Level and basically trying to land on a minute he and community and push a particular brand of political program. Were actually doing the reverse. Its more of a grassroots effort that then influences what we do nationally because its driven around issues and really listening to our members and what are the issues that they care about . At what we think in washington dc not what we think in washington dc they should care about but locally. Im hopeful that that actually enforces you know, the strength of those endorsements because they will be deliberated on based on the issues that are driven locally. Two questions. First i want to follow on. Your account about trying to organize a million new members and thats a pretty big number. According to bls the number is around 15 million. It has gone down in the last few years. Liz over 10 years. Two sectors, there is a big push on immunization, clean energy. The new battery plants which are writing everywhere the uaw is aggressively trying to organize, you know, both theplants and the troy, three arco building as well as the transplants. Can you talk about what sort of efforts youre going to try to encourage that . And then also on the on the airline front, right . Delta. Liz battery is a delta and what was the second . Pto. Cto. Thanks for clarifying. When we convened in philadelphia we launched our center for as formation of organizations transformational organizing. I met with our key leader Union Leaders to figure out what would be a realistic goal to set a lower not a ceiling. I just want to make that clear. And so a million new members also is the key, um, over 10 years means about 100,000 year. Were putting that out there so that we can hold ourselves accountable which we dont normally do. And i wanted to be bold so that we put something out there for us to actually aspire to another. Together. And thats the difference is that were bringing unions together in single strategy to land on industries that will benefit the entirety of the Labor Movement. We know amazon, for example, has a footprint and not just packaging and warehouse and delivery, but media prescription drugs, you know, transportation. The Massive Company and pretty much every industry that has had a Ripple Effect across the economy. So, Clean Energy Economy is the thing where we have such tremendous opportunity to grow Good Union Jobs in an industry that is non union for the most lowwage at this moment. But its up to us to actually lift those standards and bring people together in new and creative ways so that we can make the clean energy industry, like the Auto Industry right. Which started out as dangerous jobs with low pay and horrible safety conditions organized a union elevated those standards. We want to do the same with the Clean Energy Economy and its going to benefit everyone. That million member goal is a floor, not a ceiling. We will bring together the best organizers and researchers and technologists into our organizing strategies and go to work. That, to me is one of the most exciting things that came out of our convention. There is unity of around those goals. Thats the other key that we all are all in, its not just one union taking on one company. Its all unions banding together. In terms of batteries, you are right. Again, huge opportunities coming out of the ira and the infrastructure legislation and chips act to really reclaim domestic manufacturing as an industry that is driving good jobs. And with the labor standards we have in the legislation to make sure that were not lower roading these investments are tax dollars should be used to create good jobs. And the battery is the new question engined and Combustion Engine and a lot of the skills that we see that have traditionally been in the Auto Industry, we believe will transfer to the way this industry grows and emerges over time and that we have the potential to create a good high road high wage future that is family sustaining in the clean energy, an ev specifically industry and our unions see if we can focus on the administration to see if we can bring together almost tripartite approach to high road solution where we can get some of the companies who are manufacturing and who will take that commitment seriously and make the s part of that esg real. And come to the table and then we can forge a solution as a country about how do we want to tackle this, this Clean Energy Economy. Finally, on delta i would say, again, all in the entire Labor Movement landing on the organizing campaign, the faa the afa has been waging with delta. And we have the machinists also ring with of the flight attendants because that company is an out layer outlier, theyre one of the only non Union Companies in the Airline Industry where their flight attendants continue to be non union. And you see the tactics, theyre responding, theyve hired Union Busting firms, theyre putting millions of dollars into anti Union Tactics and every once in a while they see an issue that flight attendants are upset about and then they try to fix it and do that, you know, proactively to undermine the organizing campaign, right . Because they well give, give a raise or the pay that they instituted for the idle time or the time people are when theyre boarding the flights. I think the bottom line is that were coming together as a Labor Movement to support organizing wherever it happens. This is the moment because we have so much momentum. The public is pro union, the administration is the most pro Union Administration in history and we have working people standing up taking risks, tremendous courage against the odds because of our broken labor laws willing to say, you know, what enough is enough. Ill go to kirk of National Journal and over to riley. Thank you for being here. What are your priorities at the federal level as democrats keep control of congress after the midterms and then how are these priorities changing if republicans take back the house . Liz last couple of years weve been in a proactive posture where weve put forward a lot of legislative ideas and proposals and been on offense because we have a proworker majority in both the house and senate and in the white house. So its been unusual feeling, i will admit that we didnt have to be on defense as much, which obviously if things change in november we have to recalibrate our strategy. I dont think the priorities change though, i mean were giving voice to working people on a whole host of issues that are pretty evergreen. And that is always you know, looking at, are the investments that our government is making going to create good jobs . Weve seen a lot for example with investments in technology thats been an area of growth that traditionally hasnt had a union voice at the table and so thats something wed like to do need to push hard to change. In fact, we have a great example with the chips act. Since we did have a pro worker majority in congress where we were actually able to get labor a seat at the table. So when those investments are trickling down to the Community Level that we have a worker voice and how that will be taped. Shaped. Um we have partnerships that we now have a door open to with companies who are building chips that we want to partner and provide training to make sure they have the most highly skilled, highly trained workforce. Were partnering with Carnegie Melon University to make sure that theres a worker voice and perspective in things like ai and robotics. So this is an area of growth for the Labor Movement that i think um we will continue to keep our eyes on as congress, well we will see how it shakes out in november. But, we will spend quite a bit of time on defense. I have a feeling most of the gains that we made in as congress there will be attempts to roll back. Therell be attempts to institute things like right to work, cuts to funding for osha and the National LaborRelations Board and the enforcement agencies that have actually been looking through a workers lens when they approach their work. We have seen it before, we endured. Were not going to stop fighting for working people and the issues they care about and that doesnt depend on who was in control of congress. It just we keep going to work every day and bringing their voices forward. Thanks. Riley, detroit news. F2 questions i have two questions. One followup, the economy has been popping up in states like georgia, tennessee and kentucky where there is a lot of clinical and cultural resistance to unionization. I wondered if you could talk about how the Labor Movement can overcome that and get gains there. My second question is how might sort of the discussion about a potential recession impact the momentum and sort of organizing efforts that you discussed at the top. Liz i have to applaud of the uaw for their forwardlooking posture. The president and his investments in organizing, particularly in the south have started to pay off. I know they recently had a convening that brought workers from all kinds of companies in the south, union, nonunion to start thinking about how they could Work Together more closely. We as a Labor Movement are investing more in the south. You can imagine there is a softening of the ground when you have more people, talking about unions, investing in infrastructure, forming those Community Partnerships and alliances, that people recognize when you have more union jobs, it lifts up entire communities. It raises the standard for wages, for, it has that Ripple Effect across the economy. So the Auto Industry specifically has always played that role, and we want to see that continue to happen in the south right to work states are off. Tough. But it doesnt mean that workers sit on the sidelines, right . And from what were seeing um you know, the amazon election in bessemer alabama, for example, we came so close in a right to work state, that has never happened. I always say that if that election were held in new york city, we would have to amazon unions. But you know, theyre still organizing on the ground there and sometimes it takes because labor laws are so broken and theres so much stacked against workers, it takes, 12, 3, 4, 5 tries to actually um to get the union that that the workers need and deserve. And so thats still happening in bessemer and i think that thats a case study for how we can apply that kind of collaboration to the auto sector, which is obviously growing by the day. Also, the cto will be a great place for us to strategize and when i say Clean Energy Economy, that includes the batteries and evs, because that is a key part of the clean energy future. So inevitably that means were bringing 57 unions resources and strategies and organizers to bear for these campaigns. That has not happened in the past. Nissan for example didnt have the full breadth and scope of the Labor Movement like it could or should have. I think that thats a Culture Shift that were seeing that unions are um less worried about people, you know, kind of looking behind the curtain at their organizing strategies because they have such a show lysed expertise. Have such a specialized expertise. Were now more open to each others ideas and bringing strengths and best practices and literal organizers to the table. I think thats really exciting. In terms of a recession, we have been through this before, cyclical changes in the economy and we prepare for them. I think, unfortunately what we are seeing with the fed, where Jerome Powell is continuing to raise Interest Rates and saying, well, its just gonna be painful, sorry, working people, youre gonna just have to endure. It is a big mistake. We have been patient, weve, you know, been working hard for the past 30, 40 years with real wages being stagnant essentially. S now we have seen, with the labor market just now, we have seen with the labor market tightening, the ability for workers to have that courage and that security, you know, that more secure feeling that they can actually stand up and take a risk. I dont think thats gonna stop. Because as i said earlier, working people are waking up to their power. Theyre fed up, theyre fired up, theyre ready to make change and theyre finally connecting the dots that the Labor Movement is the place to do that. And so i dont think thats going to slow down and i think that were gonna continue to see people waking up to this notion that coming together collectively is how we rebalance the scales, particularly, you know, people are angry at what theyre seeing with these record profits coming out of the pandemic and Companies Making billions of dollars and then not being able to afford very modest wage increases for their workers. I think that thats thats just going to continue. Paul, bedard Washington Examiner and then over to ramsey. Your comment on the fed, havent thought about that. But on the president , his first year in his budget documents and other things, he put a big focus on hiring union workers. For government jobs. Clearly, you said he is the best partner possibly that unions have had ever. What has been the impact of that, especially if you look at your 100,000 that you want to get this year, has biden done anything to help that . What about inflation and recession and any advantages advances you made, we are always all starting to feel like we are falling backwards. But pressure will you put on the administration to help your folks out . Liz so, the impact that we have felt from the biden administrations policies, its, a big ship, right . And it takes time to to turn it around, but theyve already made incredible progress even within the federal government, as you mentioned with the appointments they have made. Secretary of labor a card carrying union member whos been out on picket lines, hes been out, you know, trying to problem solve frankly, as a lot of people dont realize that secretary walsh actually is probably talking to business almost as much as hes talking to labor, and he actually has great relationships across the aisle and with companies. But to have someone whos waking up every morning, looking through the lens of working people in that role is a huge shift, and i would say that that has carried over and most of the appointments, you know, throughout the federal government, cabinet secretarys, you know the regulatory approach that they take, the rulemaking, always inviting a worker perspective to the table, thinking through the mind of a working person. The White House Task force on worker empowerment. A lot of people have never heard of it, because its never been done before. People are kind of trying to get their arms around it. But what it was designed to do was to say what can we do within , the federal government to promote unionization, you know, what can we do in the policies on procurement, how can our agencies behave in a way that is more prounion . So they put one report out, the next report is due out any day, on a whole series of recommendations that they have already started to implement. So those are kind of the inside the beltway things, but outside the beltway really where the rubber meets the road is on these investments. The fact that there are labor standards written into the law, that means that when infrastructure dollars go out the door, that theres gonna be prevailing wages attached to those investments, that mean youre going to actually create family sustaining jobs and theyre gonna be in communities where, you know, people who have traditionally been left behind people of color, women, young people will have more opportunities and we are working hand in glove at the Community Level to make sure that happens. We often see ourselves in the Labor Movement as the enforcers, right . That we interpret the law and make sure that it lands the way its supposed to and then its benefiting the people that it should. So infrastructure is a great example. I mentioned the chips act and you know, were so desperate to manufacture in this country. Its a competitiveness issue for our country to be able to make things that we need, especially in times of crisis. Not just semiconductors, but think about the pandemic and how we didnt even have ventilators that, you know enough for Health Care Workers and what did we do . We pivoted and in fact the auto workers recalibrated a plant to make ventilators and so it was Like Health Care workers and auto workers working together to get through this crisis. So that kind of innovation that kind of nimbleness, and ability to pivot is what we think the hallmark of a modern Labor Movement looks like. That will help get us through ash absolutely absolutely. And until we get the pro act passed there, it will be difficult to unleash Massive Union Growth because our labor laws are so stacked against workers. But we dont wait for congress. We dont wait for the president. Workers are out there demanding change and rising up and forming unions regardless. So were seeing that momentum and you know, when i talk to workers that have just formed unions, no matter if its our books if it is rei or a museum worker, the issues are the same. They are talking about respect, dignity, decent wages and health care and benefits but they are also talking about toxic work environments coming through the pandemic, how theyre being treated by customers, how they are being treated by their bosses. You know, the fact that they sometimes feel voiceless in the decisionmaking, predictable schedules. That is a huge issue. You know, their rights as workers and having a seat at the table. So those are the things that have that seemed to drive every worker that ive been talking to in every industry, no matter if its you know, industries, you might not expect like Video Game Developers that are unionizing or workers that you know have been on strike because theyve been in the union a long time. Like bakery workers who i think i said last time, you know, were all sitting on our couches, eaten snacks, oreos and ritz crackers. Those workers were working 24 hours time away from their families, i was on the picket line with bakery workers with their children. Who were like, i have not seen my dad because he has been working so much. I can wait for this strike to be over so we can get back to normalcy. I actually was riding in a car with a letter carrier who had been working 12 hour days, six days a week for 2. 5 years because you know, thats what we do, we we step up through, you know, times of crisis and during the pandemic, what happened mail volume went up right because everybodys getting their goods delivered to their houses and so it falls on the backs of the working people who actually are having to work those shifts to make sure that those packages get delivered, that people get their medications, that the ballots get delivered on time. Its essential work and they should be compensated wittingly. Accordingly. Pressure on him to make sure somebody is getting paid fairly. Liz he is the most prounion president but we hold him accountable to and we dont always disagree. I dont think that gets covered as much right when we disagree, but we absolutely hold every elected official to the same standard that are you sticking up for the working people . Are you following the laws . Are you putting that Worker Protection into the draft . Are you you know, enforcing the regulations as they were written . But yeah, we definitely will be making sure that we continue to rest both our friends and office and those who havent stood by us. The white house says the president s speech will focus on what they are calling, the battle for the soul of the nation. This comes two months ahead of the midterm elections, live coverage from outside of historic Independence Hall begins at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan, also on our free mobile video app a now or online at cspan. Org. There are a lot of places to get political information. But only had cspan do you get it straight from the source. No matter where you are from, or where you stand on the issues, cspan is americas network. Filtered, unbiased, word for word, if it happens here or here or here, or anywhere that matters, america is watching on cspan. Powered by cable. He spends washington journal, every day we are taking your calls live, on the air on the news of the day and we will discuss policy issues that impact you. Coming up friday morning, the story, discuss President Bidens soul of the nations speech, and to american democracy. Columbia Business School professor, Christopher Mayer talks about the state of the u. S. Housing industry and whether the nation is in a housing crisis. Watch washington journal live on cspan or on cspan now, our free mobile app. Join the discussion with your phone call, facebook comments, Text Messages and tweets. Hello everyone and welcome to the National Book festival. Over the twine past years, in partnership with the library of Congress Book tv has provided in debt coverage of a National Book festival featuring hundreds of nonfiction authors and guest. On saturday, book tv returns live and inperson to the library of congress National Book festival, all day long you will hear from and interact with guests in office. Such as, the librarian of congress, the journalist navin marion, and more. The library of congress National Book festival Live Saturday beginning at 9 30 a. M. Eastern on cspan two. In 2019, reporter ben raines discovered the slave ship in a swamp outside of alabama. Sunday night, as we showcase some of the best of q a, he talks about his book, the last slave ship which details the history, and how and why transported 110 slaves to alabama in 1860, more than 50 years after the Transatlantic Slave Trade was outlawed. With the clip we have the whole story. It serves as a proxy for everyone in the u. S. And in the world whose families arrived in whatever country they are in in the whole of a ship. Most of those people, we know nothing about because their stories were not recorded. It is a proxy for this lost history for these millions of people who were stolen from africa and spread all over the world. That is really what is so unique about it. It is the whole story of the slavery all encapsulated in one piece. You know everything about these people and what happened in their lives. Ben raines with his book, the last slave ship, sunday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspans q a. You can listen to q a and all of our podcasts on your cspan now app. And of President Biden speech tonight on the state of democracy in