Standing Up For Working Families
| By Bob Menendez - Jun 16th, 2006 at 5:14 pm EDT |
| Also listed in: Featured Bloggers |
The men and women who work hard every day to make a living deserve the simple reward of security in their job. And, they deserve fairness in the workplace. As the son of a carpenter and a seamstress, this is a belief I hold deep in my heart. And it is because of this belief that I have fought against President Bush's callous outsourcing of American jobs overseas, privatization of our federal workforce, and calculated assaults on worker rights.
Throughout my years in public service, I have been proud to stand with those who stand up for workers' rights. And I am even more proud that they have recognized my dedication to the cause. Earlier this week - at their convention down in Atlantic City - the state AFL-CIO honored me with their endorsement in this race. It's quite humbling to know that - as it gets closer to election day - the working people of New Jersey are on my side…because they know I am always on theirs.
I was proud to co-sponsor the Fair Minimum Wage Act - which would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. I also co-sponsored the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier to form unions, establish real penalties for violation of workers' rights, and provide arbitration for first-contract disputes. I fought hard to block President Bush's scheme to deny millions of workers their right to overtime pay. And, I successfully worked to defeat the Bush administration's "comp-time" bill that would have replaced overtime with compensatory time. Any parent can tell you that more time to spend with your children is a wonderful thing. But that should not mean having to struggle even harder just to make ends meet.
Standing up for working families is about more than merely fighting for those who spend their days in the American workforce. For example, the pensions of rank-and-file workers are subject to much far more stringent rules than those of executives. This just isn't right. The Pension Fairness and Full Disclosure Act - which I co-sponsored - sought to level the playing field among retirees. I've also consistently stood up for labor rights around the world. I've worked hard to stop the exploitation of foreign workers. And, I've opposed overly broad trade agreements that send jobs overseas.
I feel very strongly about protecting the economic security of working families. This means standing up to the Bush plan to privatize 850,000 federal employees - nearly half of the federal workforce. Closer to home, I've found against the relocation of federal jobs from New Jersey. I've pushed for stronger worker safety protections. I've opposed efforts to weaken oversight of OSHA And, I've supported strong health standards for coal miners.
To keep pace with an ever-changing economy, our nation must invest in worker training. With that goal in mind, I co-sponsored both the Trade Adjustment Assistance Improvement Act to extend coverage to service sector workers and the Rail Worker Emergency Training Act to offer emergency-training programs.
The fight on behalf of working families is just one of many areas in which my opponent and I have strong disagreements. Last year, Tom Kean, Jr. voted against raising the minimum wage by two dollars over two years for thousands of New Jersey workers. And in 2004, Tom Kean, Jr voted in favor of sending state contracted jobs overseas. This is a record that clearly shows my opponent is anything but serious about standing up for New Jersey's workers.
Time after time, on issue after issue, President Bush and the Bush Congress have proven themselves hostile to the interests of working families. This election is crucial. It is vitally important that the House and Senate be returned to Democratic control so we can stand up to the anti-worker Bush agenda once and for all.
Throughout my years in public service, I have been proud to stand with those who stand up for workers' rights. And I am even more proud that they have recognized my dedication to the cause. Earlier this week - at their convention down in Atlantic City - the state AFL-CIO honored me with their endorsement in this race. It's quite humbling to know that - as it gets closer to election day - the working people of New Jersey are on my side…because they know I am always on theirs.
I was proud to co-sponsor the Fair Minimum Wage Act - which would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. I also co-sponsored the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier to form unions, establish real penalties for violation of workers' rights, and provide arbitration for first-contract disputes. I fought hard to block President Bush's scheme to deny millions of workers their right to overtime pay. And, I successfully worked to defeat the Bush administration's "comp-time" bill that would have replaced overtime with compensatory time. Any parent can tell you that more time to spend with your children is a wonderful thing. But that should not mean having to struggle even harder just to make ends meet.
Standing up for working families is about more than merely fighting for those who spend their days in the American workforce. For example, the pensions of rank-and-file workers are subject to much far more stringent rules than those of executives. This just isn't right. The Pension Fairness and Full Disclosure Act - which I co-sponsored - sought to level the playing field among retirees. I've also consistently stood up for labor rights around the world. I've worked hard to stop the exploitation of foreign workers. And, I've opposed overly broad trade agreements that send jobs overseas.
I feel very strongly about protecting the economic security of working families. This means standing up to the Bush plan to privatize 850,000 federal employees - nearly half of the federal workforce. Closer to home, I've found against the relocation of federal jobs from New Jersey. I've pushed for stronger worker safety protections. I've opposed efforts to weaken oversight of OSHA And, I've supported strong health standards for coal miners.
To keep pace with an ever-changing economy, our nation must invest in worker training. With that goal in mind, I co-sponsored both the Trade Adjustment Assistance Improvement Act to extend coverage to service sector workers and the Rail Worker Emergency Training Act to offer emergency-training programs.
The fight on behalf of working families is just one of many areas in which my opponent and I have strong disagreements. Last year, Tom Kean, Jr. voted against raising the minimum wage by two dollars over two years for thousands of New Jersey workers. And in 2004, Tom Kean, Jr voted in favor of sending state contracted jobs overseas. This is a record that clearly shows my opponent is anything but serious about standing up for New Jersey's workers.
Time after time, on issue after issue, President Bush and the Bush Congress have proven themselves hostile to the interests of working families. This election is crucial. It is vitally important that the House and Senate be returned to Democratic control so we can stand up to the anti-worker Bush agenda once and for all.
Comments are closed for this post.