Labor

Shared Economic Growth

It’s time to rebalance the economic scales and give workers a true voice in our future. Tom’s strongest partner has always been organized labor, and he has been a supporter of unions throughout his career. In 2016, he founded ‘For Our Future,’ a partnership with national labor groups to mobilize voters in key states. And he partnered with the California Labor Federation in 2018 to flip seven congressional districts by engaging directly with voters.

For the last 40 years, Republican policies have shifted the majority of this country’s wealth away from working families and pushed it to the rich. Donald Trump has only continued the GOP’s agenda of cutting taxes for corporations and the super-wealthy, and has left the American people with historic levels of inequality. The richest 1% now holds 32% of American wealth. Meanwhile, 40% of Americans would have trouble meeting an unexpected $400 expense.

The truth is, our economy is broken — millions of people are working multiple jobs and still struggle to afford health care. And while our GDP is at record highs, millions of American workers who have powered its growth are on the brink of poverty. Despite this, Trump is campaigning on his economic strength. In recent years, the Supreme Court’s Janus decision has stripped workers’ bargaining rights and the Trump Administration has represented a three-year sustained attack on the working class. In order to return economic prosperity to the American people, and to beat Trump in November, Democrats need a nominee who can expose him as a fraud and a failure.

Stronger Unions

Labor unions represent a powerful check on corporations and Tom supports workers’ right to organize for protections, a living wage, an increased earned income tax credit, and expanded retirement benefits. As president, Tom wants to continue to deepen his relationship with working families. He will aggressively enforce our labor laws, protect the right to organize, and defend worker pension, social security, and disability benefits and enforce workplace safety rules. He will also regulate corporations and limit the ability to reclassify full-time workers as part-time employees or independent contractors, create portable structures for healthcare, retirement, and other benefits; and write our trade policy with workers in mind. 

Tom believes public sector jobs should remain in the public sector: privatization of these jobs is just another way for corporations to gut the middle class and control more of our economy and society. He will set a strong example with strong labor standards embedded within Federal contracts and hiring.

A Living Wage

American economic productivity and sustained economic growth is rooted in the health and welfare of its workers — our auto workers, public service employees, teachers, teamsters, nurses, and communication workers. We must ensure that our brothers and sisters in labor are making enough to support their families and prosper. Every worker deserves a living wage and the ability to collectively bargain. Tom will work to raise the minimum wage to at least $15 per hour, and he will vigorously enforce labor laws around equal pay and wage theft.

Job Creation

Tom’s Economic Agenda and Climate Justice plan will create 4.6 million long-term jobs as we update our electricity grid and build a carbon neutral economy. Tom will ensure access to good jobs and careers by providing workers with the skills they need to thrive in a 21st century economy, and build strong workforce pipelines, including apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs. As America makes the transition to a clean energy future, we must honor and support those who have devoted their lives to keeping our lights on and our vehicles moving. Tom will invest $50 billion to ensure former fossil-fuel workers and their communities have the healthcare, wages, and benefits necessary to thrive in a clean economy. He will work with local communities to build just transition pathways to a new economies by ensuring robust remediation processes for old mines, preventing companies from shedding pension obligations, and fostering workforce retraining options.