--- title: Joe Biden Calls for Fair Wage description: Vice President Joe Biden celebrated Labor Day with a call for a "fair wage" at a union rally for workers in Detroit on Monday. canonical: https://time.com/3248120/joe-biden-labor-day-fair-wage/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-01T20:23:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:57:23.211Z article:section: Politics og:title: Joe Biden Calls for Fair Wage og:description: Vice President Joe Biden celebrated Labor Day with a call for a "fair wage" at a union rally for workers in Detroit on Monday. og:url: https://time.com/3248120/joe-biden-labor-day-fair-wage/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joe Biden Calls for Fair Wage twitter:description: Vice President Joe Biden celebrated Labor Day with a call for a "fair wage" at a union rally for workers in Detroit on Monday. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Biden Celebrates Labor Day With Call For 'Fair Wage' > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 1, 2014 8:23 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 1, 2014 8:23 PM UTC Vice President Joe Biden celebrated Labor Day with a call for a “fair wage” at a union rally for workers in Detroit on Monday. “Folks, the middle class is in real trouble now,” Biden said to an enthusiastic crowd. “A job’s about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity, it’s about your place in the community, it’s about who you are.” Biden’s 20-minute speech employed a populist and personal tone as he took on everything from the estate tax to American corporations that have moved operations overseas. Biden, who is known for his blue collar roots, referenced his family roots and his ties to labor. “‘Joey, you’re labor from belt buckle to shoe sole,'” Biden said his uncle told him. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3248120/joe-biden-labor-day-fair-wage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3248120/joe-biden-labor-day-fair-wage/"},"headline":"Biden Celebrates Labor Day With Call For 'Fair Wage'","datePublished":"2014-09-01T20:23:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:57:23.211Z","description":"A job's about a lot more than a paycheck. 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