San Diego, California Remarks at the Annual Convention of the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

President Bob Georgine and my good friends in the building and construction trades:

It's good to be here with you, the men and women who are building America's future.

It's an honor and a pleasure, and I'm grateful that yesterday one of the finest Secretaries of Labor who ever served was able to address you. I understand he made my speech for me, and I wonder if he did all right. Did he do okay? [Applause] Thank you very much.

It must be very reassuring to you, as it is to me, to have a man as Secretary of Labor who understands what it means to work for a living. Yesterday, I understand Ray said it would make us feel more at home if you had sawdust on the floor- [laughter] —but we understand you and believe that our Nation will be better in the future because of you.

I'm going to violate protocol, too, and repeat something that my introducer has already said. I don't want to change the text of my speech. It shows that great minds move in the same direction. [Laughter] As a matter of fact, I want to tell you three brief stories.

Back in 1976, at the Democratic National Convention, as Bob Georgine said, I had a long private talk with him, as the new Democratic nominee for President. As he said, I asked him, "What can I do, Bob, for the building trades?" And I never forgot his quick answer. He was clear, to the point; he didn't equivocate. He said, "Governor, my people need jobs." I've not forgotten it. We were in the midst of what was nothing less than a depression for the construction industry.

When I took office, unemployment among the building and construction trades was averaging 15 percent, in some areas 25 or 30 percent. It had been that way for a long time. I felt then and I feel now that we formed a partnership. With your help, I was elected President, and working with a Democratic Congress and with you, we have created, since January 1977, a net increase of 8 1/2 million jobs in the United States, an unprecedented achievement in the history of our country. I thank you for it. That partnership has really paid off.

For all American workers, we've cut the unemployment rate about 25 percent, and I'm proud of that. But I'm even prouder of the remarkable achievement among those who look to you for leadership, for the total unemployment rate has dropped more than 40 percent. As a matter of fact, among those 8 1/2 million jobs, 1 million—more than a million have been new construction jobs in just 30 months. There are more construction workers on the job today than ever before in history. Bob, we have delivered together, and we're not through yet.

In spite of some economic obstacles which you and I recognize together, I intend to preserve those construction jobs and to get some more. That's the first story I wanted to tell you about.

The second story involves another labor leader who also happens to be here with us today, and he was with me at Camp David in July. While I was searching for a clear approach to the very complicated subject of energy, not knowing quite how to address a longstanding, unanswered question in our society, Lane Kirkland ¹ called for boldness with a simple and startling answer about what to do concerning energy. "Mr. President," he said, "the issue is freedom."

¹ Secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO.

Now, there's a third story with even deeper dimensions—about our Nation's basic values and how we can reassert those values and how I believe we've already begun to do so.

Last week, I watched the television arrival of His Holiness Pope John Paul II. When he came down from his plane, he knelt to kiss the earth of our country, and then my wife, Rosalynn, greeted him. And he made a brief but powerful and eloquent statement about America the beautiful.

He said essentially that he respects us individually as a nation and that we are good people and that he loves us. It was a rare moment in our lives, an emotional moment, a moment for history.

But immediately, the TV commentator turned to his colleagues and said, "It was a gracious speech, gentlemen, but there was nothing new in it. Did you think so?" And another one said that the Pope looked very tired, and then the third comment was, "I don't believe he can speak English well enough to carry on a conversation."

For television viewers, a beautiful and significant moment was kind of glossed over and made trivial. But that was a transient damage, because the character of John Paul and our Nation's hunger to restore the unchanging ethical and spiritual standards as a part of American life has made his visit to the United States of America a triumph, not only for him as a great spiritual leader but also for us. It brought out for all the world to see the finer elements of our character as Americans.

These three episodes, one with Bob Georgine, one with Lane Kirkland, one with the Pope's visit to our country, contrast the powerful forces that face us in our day-by-day lives as Americans and the choices that we have to make, both as individuals and as a nation. These choices are between cynicism and faith, between despair and confidence, between weakness and courage.

These are basic choices in our personal lives. They're also basic choices in our economic and political lives as a nation. They are choices that I discussed with you and other Americans in my television address that Sunday evening in July when I came back from Camp David. In that speech, I outlined my vision of a rebirth in American values and American spirit.

As President, I have a chance to think a lot and to talk a lot and to listen a lot to people who understand our country. And I recognize the problems of America, but I also recognize our strength. I know that we can meet those challenges, I know that we can answer those difficult questions, and I know that we can solve those tough problems. But first we must restore our confidence in one another and our faith in the future. All else pales in importance when compared to this absolute necessity for us to have confidence in one another and confidence in the future of our Nation.

Second, we must revitalize our basic human values like freedom, patriotism, duty, trust, family, compassion, love. Our outpouring of affection for the Pope showed how deep and strong those values are within the souls and the hearts of Americans.

And third, we must regenerate our sense of unity. We must draw again from that deep reservoir of spirit that's always been available to us when our Nation was in danger or when we faced a serious challenge. And today we do face some of the most serious economic and international challenges in history. Energy, employment, inflation, world peace are of special concern to me as President.

In the last few months, I believe we have turned a corner. I see a growing willingness to pitch in, to recognize problems, to face them courageously, and to try to solve those problems together. The labor movement has helped to lead this change.

We are finally building up good momentum in the Congress after long years of delay in major energy legislation.

Last year, with your help, we passed part of an energy bill that can reduce imported oil by 2 1/2 million barrels a day by the end of this coming decade. But even with those huge savings and the savings that we expect to get from increased conservation, if we do nothing more, we will be importing more oil by 1990 than we import today. We've still got a long way to go. And we will not accept this threat to our Nation's very security.

At Camp David, I also turned to Marty Ward, to Jack Lyons, and they told it to me straight: "This country needs a new energy base, Mr. President, and we've got to start right away." And I have a clear message from Bob Georgine, from Charlie Pillard, Bill Sidell, Jay Turner. They tell me that we must stop exporting American jobs and stop importing inflation. And they also tell me that there's some construction workers in this country ready to fill those new jobs when we create them.

Americans are ready and we will save much more energy in the future than we have ever tried to save in the past. But we also have got to build and produce more. We need more American oil, American gas, American coal, American solar power, American nuclear power, American synthetic fuels to run our homes and factories, and we're going to produce them without further delay-American energy for American people, for American jobs, and to cut inflation. If you'll help me, we will not fail.

I want to tell you this: This will not be an unpleasant sacrifice on the part of Americans. It will be and can be a pleasant thing, a notable achievement. We'll get from it a sense of patriotism.

We must have an energy security corporation financed by a windfall profits tax on the unearned profits of the oil companies. I'm determined to get it. If you'll help me, we will not fail on that.

This will finance—and this might be of interest to you—one of the biggest construction projects in the history of the world—a brand-new American industry-American industry—with American technology and American jobs on a scale which will even exceed the construction of our Interstate Highway System. Without even counting any indirect benefits, in construction alone, it will create more than 145,000 jobs.

But I need your help with the windfall profits tax in the Senate, because the oil companies are pushing for loopholes that could give them nearly $100 billion of this proposed tax and which would only produce only a small increase in American oil and American gas. This would all be at the expense of programs to help the poor pay rapidly rising energy costs, to give us a better transportation system, to develop synthetic fuels. This we cannot permit, and I want to know, would you help me stop this attempt by the oil companies to get this $100 billion for themselves? Will you help me with that? [Applause] Right on.

I know you've helped me before, and I appreciate it, but now's the time to help again, without delay. Importing just 1 barrel of oil per day—1 barrel of oil per day—costs our country $8,000 a year. This is more than many workers in our country make in an entire year. Next year, we will import not 1 barrel of oil, but 8 1/2 million barrels of oil every day. We will send out of the United States next year $70 billion. Just imagine how many American jobs could be created with $70 billion. That's why we need the windfall profits tax, because we're going to build a new energy future for our country. And the building and construction workers are going to build it.

But we're not going to stop there. As Bob Georgine says, the unemployment rate is still too high. Our goal is full employment, and to me this means full employment for construction workers as well.

In fighting inflation, we do not sacrifice construction jobs. While interest rates have been rising, because of decisions made by the Federal Reserve Board, to high levels in order to cool inflation, we've taken special financial measures to sustain credit for construction.

In the past, as you well know, when interest rates went up, building dropped to practically zero. It was the first industry to suffer. This has not been the case. Interest rates are too high, inflation is too high, but we've tried to build into the system protection for construction workers and especially housing construction.

I reject the advice of those who think the only way to cure inflation is to throw millions of people out of work. This has been done in the past by administrations before mine, but I guarantee you that I will not fight inflation with your jobs.

I've worked with President George Meany and Bob Georgine and others on this platform up here to make sure that American workers never again have to suffer such a loss because of a cruel and unnecessary policy.

Let me add that your strength today is a tribute to the dedication of President George Meany to a free, democratic, patriotic, and responsible labor movement, not just in the United States but all over the world. Every American owes President George Meany a debt of gratitude.

I told him last January that in fighting inflation, that we would make labor, probably for the first time, full partners. I assured him that labor would be at the table when my administration made any major decisions about economic matters. And I've delivered on that promise.

As you may know, we've just concluded, with your leadership, with the help of Lane Kirkland and others, the new economic pact between my administration and organized labor—the national accord is what it's called—the national accord—which amounts to an economic charter for the 1980's, a decade that can be a time of stable prices, steady expansion, and growing employment. Labor, business, and the public will all be represented on the pay committee which is envisioned in the national accord. The chairman will be a man who is a special friend of yours and in whom we all have confidence, John Dunlop.

For the first time—and this is very significant, in my opinion—the national accord makes full partners of those people whose well-being and standards of living are at stake in the fight against inflation-the working men and women of America.

The national accord commits us to protect jobs, it commits us to aid the poor as they struggle with inflation. The national accord also obligates us to continue what we begin—action to ensure capital for the housing industry, and especially to make available adequate financing for low- and middle-income families who are seeking homes.

Now, we all know that we must pursue a policy of fiscal discipline, with protection for the poor and the disadvantaged. We cannot spend our way out of this inflation. Austerity is unavoidable and inevitable. We all recognize that. Labor, business, and government leaders, we can no longer postpone it.

If we all continue shoving each other to get more, we will only get more inflation and, ultimately, less of everything. But if we respect each other's needs and capabilities and needs and if we restrain ourselves and cooperate with one another, we can have both less inflation, more jobs, and a steadily expanding economy.

Let me add that I count as an obligation something not written into the labor accord. That's my pledge to you to oppose in the Congress antilabor legislation and to support positive labor legislation, such as common situs picketing and labor law reform. My own experience is that you can't always get from the Congress everything you want the first year, but I've never been one to give up, and I don't intend to give up on this.

That's the positive action that we want from the Congress. But we've also seen this year seven different attempts in the Congress to gut the Davis-Bacon act. We've turned back all seven attempts, and I stand with you to turn back all such future attempts. And you can depend upon it.

It's clear that protecting the rights of workers is essential to any sort of energy, economic plans or contracts. So, when somebody begins to complain about inflation, for instance in the Congress, and then attacks labor, I say that all they want to do is to put the sacrifice, all the sacrifice, on the shoulders of the working men and women of this country. And this we cannot and we will not permit. The sacrifice must be shared.

We've got some problems that are difficult to resolve. There's no question about that. As you know, I'm the fourth President to have to deal with the problem of continued high inflation. But missing from every previous approach to resolve the problem of inflation has been this voluntary compact, negotiated freely, with a broad consensus of support, including, as an essential element, labor. For the first time, we have such an accord now in the national accord. It's because of you that we have it, and I thank you deeply for it.

And I might add that within a few moments after the AFL-CIO executive council approved the national accord, President Frank Fitzsimmons sent me word that I could count on the Teamsters, and, President Fitzsimmons, I thank you for that.

In closing, let me point this out—it's important to you and me: Our energy and economic and other domestic efforts are closely tied to our international challenges, for it's our national strength and our national resolve and our world leadership that helps to promote peace.

We are at peace in the world. While I've been President, not one single American has lost a life in combat, and I thank God for it.

This is a peace based on strength, on determination, a peace based on vigilance. We've strengthened our NATO commitment, and it becomes stronger every day. We've reversed the long decline in real spending for national defense. My number one responsibility, above everything else, is our Nation's security. And as long as I'm President of the United States, you can count on our Nation having military forces second to none.

I don't deny that we have challenges, but we face our challenges calmly because we have confidence in America. We've established an essential balance between security and peace.

While strong and at peace, we must never lose sight of the need to eliminate the threat which has hung over our heads for the last 30 years, the threat of nuclear annihilation. I say to you today what American labor has said for a long time: The Senate must ratify the SALT II treaty.

SALT II represents 7 years of detailed negotiations under three different Presidents, both parties. It's a fair treaty; it's a balanced treaty. It's a treaty that can be verified; it's a treaty that lets us monitor what the Soviets are doing. It's a treaty that maintains our role as a leader of the Western World. It's a treaty that exemplifies America's desire for peace through strength. It's a treaty which permits our Nation to put its precious financial resources where they pay the greatest dividend for American quality of life. It's a treaty that enhances world peace. This is a responsibility that we must fulfill for our own children and for future generations.

SALT II will lead to further arms reductions so that we can maintain equivalency of military strength and use the tremendous advantages that America has to compete with the Soviet Union all over the world.

We are a nation that believes in freedom, individuality, liberty, democracy; the Soviets don't believe in those things. We think a person should never be subjugated to the state; the Soviets put the state first. We are a nation with deep ethical standards and religious beliefs; the Soviets are an atheistic nation. We believe in the rights of other countries; the Soviets inject themselves directly or through Cuban surrogates into the internal affairs of other countries and disrupt the societies there.

We have tremendous advantages that can be marshaled to prevail and to make friends and trade partners with nations throughout the world, provided the SALT II treaty is passed. We don't fear anyone, but we believe that we can prevail through peaceful competition. Our allies must have confidence in us. They look to us to negotiate successfully. They look to us to control the nuclear threat to themselves. We cannot betray this confidence of our allies.

And the SALT II treaty permits us as well to contribute to a world that will let us expand everywhere the scope of our belief in human rights. I'm proud that we've put this issue, including trade union rights, on the international agenda.

We in America will never lower the banner of human rights. We want the benefits of a peaceful world for ourselves and for others. We have worked hard for this.

We've made historic progress toward peace in the Middle East. A year ago, we had the Camp David accords. Six months ago, we had the Middle East peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. And now we hope to reach a permanent solution to the terrible conflict that has dominated the history, of this troubled corner of the world. We are determined not to fail in bringing peace to Israel and to the Middle East.

At times, this has been a lonely struggle, but throughout this effort, I have drawn strength and support and encouragement from the labor movement. You're always with me when peace or freedom are at stake. I know I can count on you; I have never been disappointed.

In wartime, during the struggle for civil rights in our own country, in meeting our economic challenges, no matter how severe they may have been, whenever our well-being or our basic values are at stake, labor is in the front line.

The visit of Pope John Paul has given us a chance to reflect on our basic values and the challenges to them. We cannot permit this chance to slip away. Let's seize this opportunity and make the most of it.

Perhaps the greatest gift the Pope gave us in his brief visit to our country was a chance to rethink what these four words mean, "One nation, under God." He lifted our eyes from petty concerns, sometimes selfish concerns, from the cynicism and the indifference that sometimes divides Americans one from another, to show us that we can unite for common purposes, as Americans, as children of God, or as citizens of a fragile world.

Now let us rededicate ourselves to a simple truth that together we can shape a bright future, together we can improve our own lives, that as a strong nation together, we can build a community of nations at peace.

We have within us the ability to make these dreams a reality. And I ask you, the building and construction workers of America, to help me make these wonderful dreams come true.

Thank you very much.