Jobs, Economy and Workers' Rights

I have spent much of my life fighting for the rights of workers. I was selected to join the inaugural class of the AFL-CIO's Union Summer, I worked to unionize day care workers in Chicago, and then I was invited to speak at the annual meeting for the AFL-CIO in 1996. As a teacher in the New York City public schools, I worked with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) to lobby Albany for additional funds for our teachers and schools. I sincerely believe in, support, and aggressively fight for honest living wages, the right to organize, and the eradication of poverty, and will remain committed to these causes indefinitely.

Prepare our industrial base for the future. Our manufacturing sector has been losing an average of 375,000 jobs a year since 1998. While we cannot stop the growing tide of international trade, we must ensure that our workers are trained for the future. We must train Americans for the high-tech jobs of tomorrow and help them adjust to the changing nature of the American workforce. At the same time, we need to spur new forms of research and development to encourage more jobs for the American economy. I strongly support efforts to encourage the development of renewable energy sources. I believe that American innovation, when properly motivated with government incentives and support, can deliver economically-viable renewable energy technology within a decade. We are a nation of inventors and if we can create the desire, we can develop a sustainable energy source. Doing this is critical not only to reduce emissions and the threat of global warming, but also to allow us to pursue a more unbiased foreign policy in the Middle East and the world.

Increase minimum wage. First, we must immediately increase the minimum wage. The effect of the last minimum wage increase in 1996-97 has been completely eroded by inflation. Today's minimum wage of $5.15 is the equivalent of only $4.23 in 1995. This is lower than the $4.25 minimum wage level before the 1996-97 increase. We must ensure the minimum wage is regularly adjusted for cost of living. It is appalling that we have adjusted the political campaign donation limits to account for inflation, but have taken no action to help our workers earn a fair wage. I would push to tie the minimum wage adjustment to the federal workers' cost-of-living adjustment, or some other similar regularly produced, independent measure.

Enable family leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a crucial law which allows workers to balance the demands of work and family. Unfortunately, its effectiveness is constrained by its limited coverage. Almost 41 million workers are not covered by the FMLA. Moreover, many workers cannot afford to take leave without pay. A Labor Department study in 2000 found that almost 80 percent of workers who needed leave did not take it because they could not afford to. To address these issues, I support expanding FMLA eligibility and providing for limited wage replacement during periods of leave. I also believe Congress must resist all attempts by employers to curtail FMLA through the limitation of circumstances under which employees can take leave.

Revise the tax system. It is time to take a hard look at our tax system. We currently provide a tax break for the wealthy by assigning different tax rates to different types of income. Wages are currently taxed at a higher rate than investments, and thereby favor the wealthy over the working poor and the middle class. It is time to end our government's preference for some types of income over others. This change will allow us to reduce the tax burden on working Americans and simplify the tax code, all while maintaining or even increasing our tax revenue.

Regulate international trade. While outsourcing and the movement of manufacturing jobs to third-world countries may make sense to big business, it undermines the manufacturing capacity and harms local workers. I believe that we must negotiate all agreements to require the enforcement of internationally recognized workers' rights and environmental standards. Moreover, I believe that we must hold corporations to a higher standard than their bottom line. We must promote the enforcement of internationally recognized workers' rights and adequately fund plans to put an end to abusive international child labor. I support tax incentives that encourage corporations to maintain production and investment in the U.S. And while I believe that the inevitable opening of markets and expansion of free trade can bring benefits in terms of lower prices, it also imposes a great many casualties. We need to secure meaningful remedies for individuals whose livelihoods are harmed by the expansion of trade and provide additional remedies for individuals harmed by unfair trade practices.