White House Summit on Working Families  ... >
June 23, 2014 - The White House Summit on Working Families, co-sponsored by the White House, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Center for American Progress, brought together "businesses, economists, labor leaders, legislators, advocates and the media" to discuss such topics as workplace flexibility, paid family leave, and child care.  The all-day summit, at the Omni-Shoreham Hotel, sought to "spark a national conversation, keep making progress, and identify solutions that are good for both workers and employers – and that go right at the heart of the economic stresses and the emotional strains that families are going through."  Given the current gridlock with Congress, the focus of the summit was not so much on legislative proposals as on highlighting problem areas and best practices and showing businesses how they can benefit from adopting worker-friendly workplace policies.  In conjunction with the summit, the White House also announced a host of programs, partnerships, initiatives, and resources being developed and implemented by Department of Labor and other departments, as well as a Presidential Memorandum "directing federal agencies to implement existing efforts to expand flexible workplace policies to the maximum possible extent." [fact sheet]
  The Council of Economic Advisors issued several reports in advance of the summit.
A significant majority of attendees were women.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to the President and chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, and Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress.
Dr. Jill Biden and Vice President Joe Biden.  [more]
Plenary panel on "Family Matters," moderated by Jonathan Cohn of The New Republic, included Caludia Goddin, a professor of economics at Harvard University; Mark Weinberger, global chairman and CEO of EY (Ernst & Young); Makini Howell, owner of Plum Bistro Restaurant; and Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union.
Participants take photos at the Selfie Wall.
Breakout session on hourly workers.
Karen Finney of MSNBC moderates the session on hourly workers.
Plenary panel on "A 21st Century Economy that Works for Busiess and Workers: Businesses need to adopt," moderated by Claire Shipman of ABC and Katty Kay of BBC, included Bob Moritz, U.S. chairman and senior partner of PriceWaterhousCoopers; Sheila Marcelo, CEO of Care.com; Liz Shuler, secretary-treasurer of AFL-CIO; Nick Bloom, professor of economics at Stanford University; and Kim Jordan, CEO of New Belgium Brewing Company.
President Obama spoke in the early afternoon [more].  He mentioned "outdated policies and old ways of thinking."  Obama stated, "Family leave, childcare, workplace flexibility, a decent wage -- these are not frills, they are basic needs.  They shouldn’t be bonuses.  They should be part of our bottom line as a society.  That’s what we’re striving for."  After Obama's speech, there were more breakout sessions, a plenary on "Career Ladders and Leadership," and First Lady Michelle Obama delivered the closing remarks.

White House Summit on Working Families  |  C-SPAN Coverage  |  Several GOP Responses
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