American workers live by the motto, “An honest day's work, an honest day's pay.” While the attitude behind this saying is celebrated this Labor Day, it's important to remember that Americans don't just work for money. We take pride and purpose in what we create and accomplish.
American workers are not cogs in a machine. They are craftsmen, perfectionists, innovators, and above all, valuable investments. 2023 Ipsos Poll Showed A majority of Americans believe it is “highly important” that their jobs “help people or society.”
Unfortunately, some employers seem to have forgotten the value of American workers and would rather outsource jobs overseas or replace American workers with foreign workers. This is a huge mistake that is doing a disservice to American workers and hurting many great companies. (Related article: Linda McMahon: On Labor Day, data shows our nation's small businesses and workers are struggling)
Take Boeing. It's been a tough year for the U.S.'s largest commercial aircraft maker. In January, Americans booking flights started looking at more than just the price and flight duration. For the first time, many feared reports of mechanical failures in Boeing's fleet and anxiously looked at the type of aircraft they were flying on. Loose door, Broken Window, Wheels are missing, or of Engine fireMany travelers tried to avoid these flights.
One reason for the sudden increase in cases is simply Quality Controlsome Outsourcing These and other critical feature deficiencies. In fact, federal investigators found significant craftsmanship deficiencies as aircraft assembled abroad were flown to the United States, rushed through domestic quality assurance processes, and quickly put into service.
Boeing's disregard for American workers and travel Dating back several decadesAs the 2019 congressional investigations into the two Boeing crashes revealed, A total of 346 deaths.a Bloomberg Headlines Earlier that year, the company gained infamy for blaming crashes on faulty software that it “outsourced to $9-an-hour engineers.”
These are the consequences of treating American workers “too expensive.” When reducing labor costs becomes more important than protecting quality, everyone pays the price. Moral of the story: Hire quality American workers, pay them the wages they deserve, and do the job right. Compensating for American quality with a fraction of the cost is a pointless strategy.
When I was Administrator of the Small Business Administration, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders that included the mandate to “Hire American.” The first was: Signed Just three months into his term, he aimed to increase wages and employment rates for American workers by strictly enforcing and controlling immigration and work visa laws. Number 2 The Executive Order directed federal agencies to review and limit the use of foreign workers in federal contracts to ensure that opportunities for American workers are protected and prioritized. (Related: Linda McMahon: Common-sense reforms that put American workers first are here)
The Trump administration understood that investing in American workers pays off, especially for minority workers and underserved communities. Former President Trump recently warned that the Biden-Harris administration's mass immigration plans Lost employment opportunities From black Americans. This fact is backed up by the National Bureau of Economic Research: show All of this leads to higher unemployment, lower wages, and higher incarceration rates for Black Americans.
This Labor Day, we should all remember that American workers are not disposable. Our policies should prioritize creating jobs that support American families — not by micromanaging the workplace, but by making economic choices that create the highest wages for as many workers as possible. We should unlock the value of American workers in our economy by eliminating burdensome and unnecessary regulations that make manufacturing in America cost-prohibitive, enacting trade policies that give “Made in America” ​​products a competitive advantage, and enforcing employment laws that limit outsourcing and foreign hiring.
Companies that take the “cheap” approach of hiring foreign workers undermine the industries that power our economy, put poor quality goods on our stores, and reduce the quality of life for families and communities. This Labor Day, let's remember that this is not just an end-of-summer holiday. This is about shared prosperity, this is about public safety, this is about putting America first.
Linda McMahon is president of the America First Institute and its Center for the American Worker, a former administrator of the Small Business Administration and chair of the advisory board of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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