Remarks at the United Steelworkers of America Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey

President Mcbride, Senator Williams, Senator Case, Governor Byrne, delegates of the United Steelworkers of America, and my other friends:

It's an honor to be introduced by one of the most outstanding leaders in America today, your president, Lloyd Mcbride. And it's also a pleasure to meet with and to talk to one of the finest groups of working men and women that I know, the United Steelworkers of America.

You may not know it, but you had a great deal to do with the success of the Camp David meeting. Knowing that I had to be here with you to speak today, I was able to bring to a conclusion those difficult negotiations. Late Saturday night, Prime Minister Begin finally came to me, and he said, "Mr. President, I agree to get out of the Sinai if you'll let me out of Camp David." [Laughter]

So, I'm here to point out to you that we are partners, we are brothers and sisters in a great effort to make our country and the world better.

And I'm also here to reaffirm my solidarity with the working people of our Nation in pursuing the goals that we share. There is no clearer expression of my commitment to this solidarity with working people than my appointment of Ray Marshall as Secretary of Labor. He's my friend and he's yours.

You who have gathered here in convention represent one of America's greatest national assets. I'm not talking about the size of your great organization alone, nor even about the enormous gains that steelworkers have realized from this union in the last 42 years. I'm talking about the broader, social vision of this international union and of the American labor movement.

You have been part of the conscience of America. Conscience is what motivated Phil Murray to organize this union in the beginning. Conscience is what motivated one of the most decent and honorable men ever to serve as a union president, my friend, I. W. Abel. And as you well know, President Abel's successor on my right here is poured out of the same crucible. These men exemplify your fight for decency and for social justice and for human rights—not just for your own members but also for millions of others who never carried a union card.

You've fought for the right of young people to have a decent education—your own children and the children of others. And we are working together this year to achieve an unprecedented increase in Federal aid to education.

You've fought for the right of older people to enjoy security and to escape the burden of doubt and fear. When I assumed office less than 2 years ago, our Nation's social security system was on the verge of financial collapse. Everywhere I went during the campaign, the elder citizens of our country would stand up and say, "What are we going to do in the future, because we are about to lose our sense of purpose and our sense of security."

You can be proud that the steelworkers union, under very difficult political circumstances, joined with my administration and the leaders of Congress to restore the integrity of the social security system. As long as I'm in the White House, as long as the steelworkers continue your momentous influence in our country, the social security system will continue to be sound. And you can depend on it.

On issue after issue, right down the line, the labor movement and my own administration have stood together. And we can be proud of what we've accomplished together.

We stood together to give 4 million Americans a chance to earn a life, a living of dignity and decency under revised and improved Federal minimum wage. We've stood together to pass the new mine safety and health legislation which Lloyd McBride and all of you have been fighting to pass for many years. That legislation greatly strengthens the thousands of miners in your union and puts the responsibility for enforcement for the first time where it belongs—in the Department of Labor under Secretary Ray Marshall.

We've stood together on occupational safety and health. Your union helped to lead the fight to pass a strong occupational safety and health bill years ago. But for 6 years, that legislation was systematically undermined by a hostile administration.

We've turned away from the nitpicking that was designed to discredit the OSHA program. Today, we are inspecting the most dangerous job sites. Today, we are attacking the most serious threats to health. The value of a human life cannot be measured on a balance sheet. And as long as I'm President and have your support, the health and safety of American workers on the job will be protected. And you can depend on that.

In the last 2 years, we have stood together to safeguard American jobs threatened by unfair foreign trade. The skills and the experience of America's steelworkers cannot be matched anywhere in the world. But the rules of international trade must be fair to America's workers. America's workers, and especially America's steelworkers, should not be forced to compete against foreign exporters who do not sell their products at a fair price. I will not permit our workers to suffer from unfair trading practices; dumping must stop.

The steps that we've taken to help steelworkers and the steel industry are already beginning to be felt. Employment in steel has increased, just this year, 24,000 jobs. Plant utilization was only 76 percent when I became President; now the utilization of plant capacity in our country in the steel industry has risen to 90 percent. Shipments of steel throughout the world, as you well know, have dropped off at an alarming rate in the last 2 years, but shipments of domestic steel this year are already up 5 percent over last year. Industry revenues, which are needed to modernize the plants and equipment to keep you in jobs in the future, have risen substantially.

We will continue to work toward an international steel agreement with our major trading partners to deal with the problems of a depressed world steel market. I pledge to you that we will sign no agreement that is not fair to American steelworkers and to the people of the United States.

Closely related to our trade problems is the challenge of the energy crisis. Last year, foreign oil cost us in American dollars $45 billion. This is an increase of 800 percent in the last 6 years. This means that this massive export of American dollars is not only eroding the value of American dollars overseas, it's helped to build the inflation that we face at home.

It's weakened confidence in our Government, both here and throughout the world. It's cost America many jobs and will cost many more in the future. It's left our Nation far too dependent on uncertain foreign oil supplies for the energy that we must have to run our steel mills, to heat our homes and our schools, and to fuel our transportation system.

The Senate began voting yesterday on one of the most crucial parts of my national energy plan, the natural gas conference report. This legislation, when passed, will save our country, in oil imports, 2 million barrels per day by 1985, keeping jobs here at home, making us independent, letting us have a sound, sure supply of natural gas in States where it's not produced, with carefully prescribed prices, predictable prices.

As you well know, industry is now tending to move to States that produce natural gas from States that are not major natural gas producers. This legislation will let those opportunities for jobs prevail throughout our country and, at the same time, will not damage the economic strength or prosperity of the natural gas and oil-producing States, either.

We must pass this legislation to ensure that industries and communities which depend on natural gas will be assured of continued supplies. This is especially true, as you well know, in the steel industry.

I'm sure that you all remember the crisis that this Nation faced during the natural gas shortage in the winter of 1977, just after I became President.

Nationwide, more than a million Americans were laid off because American gas industry could not obtain, could not supply enough, and the rest of industry in our country could not obtain the gas it needed. Between fifty and a hundred thousand steelworkers were left unemployed. Our Nation and your own members, other working people in our country, cannot afford that kind of loss in the future.

Passage of this legislation, along with the other less controversial energy conference reports before the Congress, will give our Nation what America so badly needs—our first national energy plan. The consequences of failure for our country are unacceptable. We have debated long enough. It's time to put the interest of our Nation and the American people first and act without further delay to have a national energy policy to benefit you and all others. I ask you this morning to help me with this crucial decision that will affect your lives.

You and I have also stood together to enhance our Nation's crucial role in world affairs.

I believe that our Nation must continue to have a strong defense. And as long as I'm in the White House and you give me your support, our defense capability will be second to none on Earth. And you can depend on that.

Our Nation must continue to lead in the most difficult and important undertaking on this planet—the search for peace. And we will do that, in the Middle East and elsewhere throughout the world.

Our Nation, as you know, was damaged by Watergate, the CIA, Vietnam, and we lost a lot in the esteem of other people around the world for us and in the esteem that American people have always had for our own Government. But our basic commitments, the beliefs and ideals on which our Nation was founded, have not changed at all.

Our Nation must continue to support human rights. And I'm proud that our country stands, not only here but everywhere, for liberty and justice. And I pledge to you that as long as I'm in the White House, America will never turn its back on the struggle for human freedom and human rights around the world. And you can depend on that.

There is something clean about America. There is something decent about America. There's something idealistic about America. There's something unselfish about America. There's something strong about America. It's what makes our people love our country. And I want to see those basic commitments restored. And in that restoration will come strength based on American people themselves, where those commitments have never changed in spite of mistakes made in the past by some of our leaders.

Worldwide human rights questions are important. And we know that our own rights, our own freedoms were won in struggle, and we know that struggle still continues. It continues for you and me in the fight to have a fair and responsible labor law reform bill. I'm disappointed that because of a massive, expensive, completely distorted propaganda effort, that the Congress has not yet passed this important legislation.

Our labor law reform bill is not a grab for power by the unions, but it's a reach for justice, justice for American working men and women which is long overdue. This is the only piece of legislation that I personally helped to draft every single paragraph. It's a reasonable and responsible piece of legislation. Its purpose is to prevent a small minority of employers from flagrantly continuing to violate the law. [Applause] I see very clearly how you feel about this matter. [Laughter]

Our goal is simply to guarantee the rights which were promised American workers 43 years ago in the National Labor Relations Act, and I am determined to reach that goal. It will be at the top of our legislative priority list for next year if we don't get it this year. And I want to be sure that we have legislation of which you and I can be proud.

You represent more than a million Americans. What's always impressed me is that you've never used your influence and power to demand a handout. What you've asked for is jobs, good jobs, sound jobs, safe jobs, healthy jobs, with reasonable pay.

Our society honors work. We believe in work. That's the great strength that we have as Americans. When I took office less than 2 years ago, there were 10 million people in this country who wanted to work but could not find full-time jobs. Unemployment had more than doubled in the preceding 8 years. The unemployment rate stood at 8 percent. I pledged to work with you to provide jobs for the American people.

Working together, we have doubled the number of public service jobs in America to 725,000. We have tripled Federal support for public works. We have cut taxes for working Americans and low-income Americans by $7 billion last year. A much larger decrease in taxes will come this year, so that American people could have the purchasing power to stimulate demand for goods, to create jobs for people who produce those goods. We doubled the size of the Job Corps. We've passed our Nation's first youth employment bill to reduce the tragic unemployment rate among our young people. And we've already begun to see the results.

We've had a net increase, a net increase of 6 million new jobs in America, never before achieved. Last month, the unemployment rate dropped below 6 percent, a reduction of 25 percent since I've been in office. In New Jersey, for instance, the unemployment rate in the last 12 months has dropped almost 3 percent. I'm proud of that record. We still have a long way to go; we have a right to be proud of the gains we've made.

But the progress that we have made and the progress that we can make are both in danger. They all face a threat of the utmost seriousness—the threat of inflation.

Inflation strikes at our faith in the future. Inflation can wipe out our savings, and it can destroy your dreams.

Inflation is hardest, though, on those who have no savings and who lack the degree of economic power and security that union membership has brought to you. Inflation cruelly gouges and cheats the old and the poor. With inflation at 7 percent, which we have seen for the last 10 years, fixed incomes are cut in half every 10 years.

When there is inflation, it's often the Government and unions that get the blame. That is obviously unfair. But you and I do share, along with others, of course, a great responsibility. We must join together to fight this enemy, inflation. We must join together to help the Congress resist the special economic interests which behave as if they care nothing for the common good.

One example is the hospital cost containment legislation that I submitted earlier this year.

A couple of weeks ago, Speaker Tip O'Neill came back to Washington from a weekend in Boston. One of his friends, a working man, brought him a copy of a hospital bill which was received by one of his constituents. The man's little son was in an accident. He had fallen and struck his mouth, and four of his front teeth were driven up into his gum. He stayed in the hospital 26 hours. His bill was $2,330.99.

As we all know, those who own and operate many of our hospitals are the very ones who decide whether a patient should be admitted or not, who decide how long they stay, who decide what treatment they shall get, who decide how much to charge for that treatment. Because of this extraordinary monopoly over a certain aspect that's crucial to every American's life, the cost of hospital care is increasing at twice the rate of inflation in our country.

Something must be done. This year, we've not been successful in getting legislation passed which would have permitted hospital costs to go up only 50 percent more than the inflation rate. But with your help next year, perhaps we can be successful in defending the basic rights of American people to good health care at a reasonable cost.

Since 1950, hospital costs have gone up more than 1,000 percent. Well, the medical lobby and the hospital industry lobby so far have been successful in blocking this legislation. There would be a saving for the American people in the next 5 years, if this legislation was passed, of $56 billion. Obviously, there's a lot at stake. And so far, the consciousness of America, including yourselves, has not yet been aroused enough to convince the Members of Congress that this needed legislation should be passed. But it's time for all of us to stand up to these special interests and to all the others that refuse to look past their own selfish concerns.

Another example of important anti-inflation legislation is airline deregulation.

Many of you flew in here by commercial airline service. One price that has gone down in the last year substantially is the price of an airline ticket on domestic and overseas flights. At first, the airline industry screamed that this would be devastating to them. Many airplanes on which I flew as a candidate for President would only have 25 percent or less of the seats filled. Now, because of reduced fares, those same planes are averaging 75 percent occupancy. Travel to other countries is increasing rapidly. The average working people of our country can travel in speed and comfort. And the profits of the airline companies have gone up substantially. It's been good all around.

This has mostly been done by regulatory action, the Civil Aeronautics Board, my own decisions, particularly in overseas flight. But shortly, perhaps even today, the House will vote on an airline deregulation bill that will put these enormously improved practices into law and make them permanent. We need to let those policies be embedded in the law, so that domestic airline fares can also be reduced by competition under the American free enterprise system. Government, of course, cannot do jobs like this alone in holding down unnecessary prices.

In fiscal year 1976, I began to study how I might, as President, if elected, do something about the very large Federal budget deficits. I believe in a balanced budget. When I ran for President, the Federal deficit was in the sixties of billions of dollars, $66 billion. In fiscal year 1978, the first budget that I prepared, we had cut it down in the fifties of billions of dollars-51. Next year, fiscal year '79, the Federal deficit will be down into the forties of billions of dollars. And my goal for 1980 fiscal year, which I'm preparing now, is to bring the deficit down into the thirties of billions of dollars.

This is in spite of the fact that we are giving better services to. the American people, and in spite of the fact that we will probably have a total of $25 billion or more of reduced income taxes for the American people. I'm determined to exercise discipline over the Federal budget, even if it means saying no to popular proposals on occasion if that's what it takes to fight inflation.

We can get more out of what we do spend if our Government is streamlined and responsive. I talked about Government reorganization during the campaign. But it's worse by far than I thought it would be.

That's why civil service reform is so important. We need a civil service system that makes the bureaucracy manageable and rewards good performance. The civil service reforms will do this. The House passed this bill overwhelmingly. The Senate has already passed it. And I believe that if this is accomplished, we will have a better Government while fully protecting the rights of Government workers.

In waging this war on inflation, I reject the policies of the past. I will not fight inflation by throwing millions of Americans out of work. And you can depend on that. You know that such a policy was followed in the past, but it's morally wrong.

We've suffered from severe inflation for the last 10 years. Our current inflation is certainly not due to excessive wage increases or responsible Government programs. It will do no good to search for villains, whether in Government, business, or labor. But business and labor, like government, are critical to stopping inflation. As both business and labor try to catch up with past inflation and protect themselves against future inflation, prices and wages keep mounting, just to protect oneself. And in the end, no one wins.

To bring inflation under control, we must have cooperation among business, labor, government, the general public of our country. This is indisputable.

In the near future, I will announce a strengthening of our limited arsenal of weapons against inflation. I can tell you today that what we will do will be fair. It will not penalize labor or any other group in our society. At the same time, it will be tough. I will ask for restraint and some sacrifice from all. I will ask you to consider what I will have to say with open minds and in a spirit of cooperation and patriotic concern.

The problem of inflation is enormously difficult, far more complicated, far more difficult than it was a decade or two ago. Controlling this problem is not just one option among many. It is an absolute necessity. We must control inflation, and, in order to do it, we must work together.

I spoke of conscience at the beginning of this talk. I have no hesitation in calling upon the conscience of the United Steelworkers of America and the American labor movement when the best interests of our country are at stake. I place my faith in the broad social concern that you have shown so often in the past. I have no doubt that you will meet the challenge that faces our country once more. Together, as partners, we can and we will continue to build for the future an even greater America.

Thank you very much.