Secretary Reich Backs Giffords in Tucson

TUCSON €“ Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich visited Tucson on Saturday to support former state Sen. Gabrielle Giffords, who is running for Congress, and join her in support of a higher minimum wage at both the state and national level. Reich and Giffords were joined by local activists and union members at the IBEW Hall on South Tucson Boulevard, at 1:30 PM for a wide-ranging discussion of the issues facing Southern Arizona families.

“I have known Gabrielle Giffords for many years, and she has the experience, the intelligence and the energy to represent Southern Arizona, and to fight for change in Washington,” said Mr. Reich. “Our economic policy is headed in the wrong direction for businesses and for families, and it will take real leadership to change direction. That leadership is what Gabrielle Giffords has to offer.”

Sen. Giffords has pledged her support for a higher minimum wage at both the national and state level, including a petition drive to place an increase in the basic wage on the 2006 ballot in Arizona. “I am pleased to have my friend and mentor Robert Reich join me to discuss these issues,” Sen. Giffords said. The wide-ranging discussion focused on economic issues, particularly the decision this week by the U.S. Senate to extend the national debt ceiling to $9 trillion.

“If I had run my family’s small business the way the federal government is being run, I’d have been out of business,” said Sen. Giffords. “For years, the leadership in Congress has masqueraded as the forces of fiscal responsibility. In reality they have created a massive ‘birth tax’ that puts every child in debt the day that they’re born.

“In the Arizona legislature, we balance our budget. Every year. I don’t always agree with the choices made, but I agree with the fiscal discipline. We should not add layer upon layer of debt on our children and our children’s children.”

Giffords and Reich were joined by activists and union members from the Electricians, the Machinists, AFSCME, the Teamsters, the Democratic party and many others.

Mr. Reich, who ran the U.S. Labor Department during the Clinton administration, currently is a Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He implemented the Family and Medical Leave Act, led a national fight against sweatshops in the U.S., and is working to end the use of illegal child labor around the world.

He is the author of 10 books on labor and the economy, and has written for such prestigious publications as the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. He is co-founding editor of The American Prospect magazine. More than five million people listen to his weekly commentaries on “Marketplace,” which is carried in Southern Arizona by KUAZ-FM.

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