fighting for workers’ rights and strengthening unions

Millions of Americans are employed full time but remain unable to afford housing, healthcare, or childcare.  The federal minimum wage was meant to prevent this, but it has failed to adjust over time for rising costs of living. It has not been raised since 2009, and since then has lost over 9 percent of its purchasing power due to inflation. Because of this, anyone who makes the federal minimum wage of 7.25 an hour is living under the poverty line if they have any dependents. The Unions of America that once gave workers a strong voice have weakened. Labor unions are a cornerstone of American industry - fighting for fair pay, safe conditions, and economic security. However, union membership in the U.S. has fallen from about one-third of workers in the 1950s to roughly 10% today. As worker bargaining power has declined for decades, income inequality and financial precarity have grown. If current trends continue, projections suggest that by 2033, over half of all workers may be living paycheck to paycheck. 

Drew Cox will respond to this issue with an unapologetic pro worker agenda. He will fight for the passage of the Raise the Wage Act raising the federal minimum wage to 17 dollars an hour and requiring the federal government to match future wages with inflation. This would lift the pay for over 80 million American workers, helping to battle poverty and rising costs of living across the country. To strengthen unions and protect worker rights, Drew Cox will vote for the Workplace Democracy Act, which makes it easier to join and create unions while also eliminating anti union “right to work” laws.

Additionally, working people in the United States are not given the space or support they need to have children, recover from illness and injury, or take care of their mental, emotional and social health. A lack of guaranteed paid family leave means that 64 percent of Hoosiers cannot afford to take adequate time off after having kids. The United States is the richest country in the world and yet our workers are being left behind. While nearly 96% of countries offer paid leave for mothers, only about 44% to 53.5% mandate paid leave for fathers. The United States rests in that 4%, along with nations like Papua New Guinea, the Solomon islands, Tonga and other small pacific island nations. A lack of guaranteed paid sick leave compels many workers - as many as 44 percent of people - to forego or postpone crucial medical treatment because they can’t afford to miss a paycheck. A lack of guaranteed paid time off causes workers stress, anxiety and depression. 

These problems can all be fixed with common sense policies that not only elevate workers’ well being but which also improve our nation’s economic output. According to the Institute for Women's Policy Research, these kinds of policies benefit the economy by increasing labor force participation, employee retention and worker morale. Universal paid time off and leave also helps small businesses, who otherwise have a hard time competing with larger companies which can pay for these things out of their own pocket. Drew Cox will seek to secure these basic rights for all American workers by passing the Family Act, which would guarantee 12 weeks of paid parental leave and sick time, as well as the Protected Time Off Act, which would require employers to grant employees one hour of paid time off for every 25 hours worked.