America's Workers

I firmly believe that America has the hardest working, most talented, and best educated workforce in the world. Our country has been successful because of our excellent workforce, and it will continue to thrive as a result. This is also why I am confident that, moving forward, we will maintain the highest standard of living in the world. Throughout my career, I have consistently fought to safeguard critical worker rights to protect our strong workforce. 

The ability to organize and collectively bargain for benefits was one of the most important advances in American labor law and has been a major contributor to our historically robust middle class.  As the son of a union baggage handler at SeaTac airport, I understand how important labor unions are in the lives of American workers and their families. I have consistently supported workers’ rights during my time in Congress, and will continue to support legislation that protects living wage jobs, lowers health care costs, and ensures that Americans have a safety net to make a better life for themselves and their families.

• We must close the gender wage gap. Despite many transformative changes in our economy, American women still earn less than their male counterparts. I am a co-sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would limit differences in pay to factors of education, training or experience. The bill also requires collection of data to ensure that the gender wage gap is erased with punitive damages possible for any future discrimination.
• It’s time to give working Americans a raise, which is why I support the Raise the Wage Act. Over the years, American wages have stagnated while worker productivity has gone up. This is fundamentally unfair. This legislation would raise the minimum wage to $12/hour nationally, a $4.75 increase over the current rate, which has gone untouched since 2009.
• We must prepare our young people for the economy of tomorrow. Recognizing that many job opportunities are in the STEM fields, I support legislation that provides relevant STEM education opportunities to high school students. The Youth Access to American Jobs Act encourages students to enroll in a course of study related to the manufacturing field at their community college, or enroll, for a two-year period, in their state’s apprenticeship program after graduating from secondary school. Students are also encouraged to enroll in the joint-labor management training program upon receiving an associate's degree from their community college. We must provide our students with an education that actually prepares them for a career.
• Support our working families with paid parental leave. I recognize the difficulties that many Americans face when balancing their career and family life. I have been a strong supporter of the Paid Parental Leave Act, which allows federal employees to substitute any available paid leave for any leave without pay available for the birth of a child, or placement of a child with the employee for either adoption or foster care. This bill directs the Office of Personnel Management to increase the amount of paid parental leave available to a total of 12 administrative workweeks.

I understand and strongly empathize with the financial challenges that many Americans face.  I am working hard in Congress to support policies that will help to get our economy back on track and create good-paying jobs here in America.  I take the need for economic stability and jobs creation very seriously. I support policies to create broad-based opportunities for all, grow our economy, keep our country strong and forward-looking, and make government work better for everyone.  

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