“Leadership matters. And President Biden demonstrated his commitment to working people daily by taking bold actions and daring to fight the big fights,” Su added. “In the last four years, that has meant fighting to increase overtime pay, pushing for a national heat standard, protecting retirees’ pensions and putting more than $1 billion in wages and damages into workers’ pockets.”

Following his induction, Biden took the stage, where he thanked “all of the labor leaders here today.”

“It’s an incredible honor. I really mean that. I want to thank Acting Secretary Su and the Department of Labor for this incredible honor,” Biden said.

“You know I measure the importance of any award I ever receive on the character and consequence of the organization bestowing it. The Department of Labor is an organization of character and consequence,” he added.

According to the Labor Department, Biden has created more than 16 million jobs in the United States and secured pensions for more than 1.2 million workers and retirees.

During Monday’s ceremony, Biden also honored Francis Perkins, the fourth Secretary of Labor, and highlighted steps his administration has taken to strength America’s workforce. He signed a declaration of new national monuments, designating the Frances Perkins National Monument in Newcastle to honor the historic contributions of the first woman Cabinet secretary and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of Labor appointed in 1933 by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

“No one believes in worker power more than this president, which is why I am honored and delighted to honor his work within the walls of the Frances Perkins Building, adding his name to the Department of Labor’s Hall of Honor,” Su said. “No example says more about who President Biden is than the day he walked the picket line with striking autoworkers, becoming the first sitting president ever to do so.”