Good Jobs
Every policy decision I make as a member of Congress and as a member of the House Education & Labor Committee in the 117th Congress is about raising the standard of living for working people and guaranteeing economic justice for all. Our country, our economy and our education system must work for every American—not just a wealthy few.
A path to the middle class starts with high quality education and job training, a right of every American. My America's College Promise Act was inspired by the outstanding institutions of Macomb and Oakland Community Colleges in Michigan's Ninth District. I worked with both colleges during my time as Chief Workforce Officer for the State of Michigan putting underemployed Michiganders back to school to earn degrees or certificates leading to in-demand jobs during the Great Recession. The America's College Promise Act would provide two years of free community college for everyone. I fought hard for and won the inclusion of the America's College Promise Act in the College Affordability Act, landmark legislation that would overhaul the higher education system and lower the cost of college for students and families.
Alternatives to the classroom are also a necessary part of the equation. That's why I introduced the STANDARDS Act, which ensures that apprenticeships continue to offer Americans reliable opportunities for good-paying jobs. Working closely with Rep. Bobby Scott, Chairman of the House Education & Labor Committee, I included the STANDARDS Act in the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020, which expands and standardizes apprenticeship programs across the country.
As a union organizer whose life's mission is to help workers in this country, I am proud that the Speaker of the House and the Chair of the House Education & Labor Committee selected me to defend the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act on the floor of the House and then to celebrate it in the Democratic Weekly address after we passed it. The PRO Act is the most comprehensive legislation in recent history to strengthen workers' right to form unions and bargain for higher wages, better benefits and safer working conditions. I also cosponsored and voted for legislation to raise the minimum wage, close the gender wage gap and reform multiemployer pension plans.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep inequalities in our society's economic, health care and political systems, and I worked hard to write and support legislation that provided working class Americans with tangible economic relief while establishing a robust public health response to the pandemic. I introduced the Coronavirus Containment Corps Act with Senator Elizabeth Warren to stand up a national contact tracing program and employ workers in their own communities who had lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. I also introduced the Relaunching America's Workforce Act to authorize funding to help workers sharpen their skills and quickly re-enter the workforce. Working with House Democratic leadership, I was able to include key provisions of the Coronavirus Containment Corps Act and the Relaunching America's Workforce Act in the original and updated HEROES Act, the comprehensive COVID relief and public health legislation passed by the House of Representatives in May and October of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic not only endangered the health and livelihoods of working Americans, but also led to significant attacks on worker rights. I led efforts to protect workers' freedom to organize unions by introducing the bipartisan SAFE Workers Act to remove a harmful prohibition of electronic voting in union elections and direct funds to the National Labor Relations Board to ensure safe, remote union elections. Key provisions of this bill were passed by the House of Representatives in July 2020 as part of the annual appropriations process.