Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today ratified a Joint Declaration of Intent with their German counterparts concerning cooperation on apprenticeships, vocational education and training. The signing, during National Apprenticeship Week, represents the firm commitment of the U.S. Departments of Labor, Commerce and Education...

Thank you, Ivanka. And thank you , for your vision in organizing the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and for guiding our work over the past 18 months. This board’s focus and action makes it truly unique among federal advisory councils. To our Board Members here in the Indian Treaty Room and on videoconference, thanks you for your continued civic commitment, and rapid, responsive...

Thank you, Ivanka, for your dedication to America’s workers and for shepherding this initiative over the past year. And thank you for leading this timely and important call. We greatly appreciate the Board members’ desire to contribute immediately to the nation’s economic recovery policy discussions and not wait until our next scheduled meeting for late June. We also thank the Board Members who...

Blue collar workers are rising. After decades of their being left behind, President Donald Trump has helped grow a full-blown blue-collar boom that can be felt on manufacturing floors in Ohio, at steel production facilities in Pennsylvania and construction sites in Wisconsin. Instead of dismissing America’s blue-collar workers, as politicians had done for decades, the Trump administration has...

As we learned this morning, re-entry programs like The Last Mile should be replicated in every state in the country, particularly since there are 7 million jobs that remain vacant and need to be filled. Yet, even more important, is the need to create fulfilling career paths for the 2.3 million people locked up in state, local, and federal prisons and jails. Second-chance reentry and employment...

This week, the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board is holding its quarterly meeting in Indianapolis, thanks to a kind invitation from Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, a champion of Indiana’s workers and an important member of the Workforce Advisory Board. On Wednesday, the Advisory Board toured the Indianapolis Speedway to witness firsthand the ongoing importance of the Indy Car Series to the...

The 10th meeting of the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum was held today in Washington, D.C., with CEO members providing joint recommendations to both governments on how to strengthen the U.S.-Brazil commercial relationship and grow bilateral trade and investment. The U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum is currently comprised of 20 CEOs of companies based in the United States and Brazil and is co-chaired on the government...

Thank you, Ivanka, for that kind introduction. I hope that everyone got a good night’s rest after our memorable evening in Camp David.I hope you also indulged yourselves at the gift shop. Every little bit of sales helps the economy. I am wearing my Camp David cuff links from a prior visit. Thank you, Jim, for hosting us today and showcasing this fine facility. It is great to be with such fine...

There is a significant body of evidence showing that the U.S. economy is strong. The U.S. economy has added millions of jobs, and even long-neglected sectors like manufacturing are having a resurgence. Among the continuous good economic news, wage growth for America’s workers has taken center stage. For the first time since 2009, year over year nominal hourly wage growth met or surpassed 3 percent...