The candidates are hearing us loud and clear.
During the fourth Democratic presidential debate in Columbus, OH, candidates focused on issues that are crucial to working people in this country, including the fight for $15/hr and a union.
Senator Elizabeth Warren said that we “need to make it easier to join a union and give unions more power when they negotiate.”
Senator Cory Booker correctly stated that “as union membership has gone down, we have seen a stratification of wealth and income in this country.”
In the #DemDebate, Sen. @CoryBooker calls for raising the minimum wage to $15, strengthening unions, and calls for sectoral bargaining so that workers can set minimum standards throughout an industry
These are some of the pillars of the #UnionsForAll platform we’re fighting for pic.twitter.com/EgmLkbRCMK
— Fight For 15 (@fightfor15) October 16, 2019
But there is still work to be done. We must be prepared to fight this election season.
Despite the fact that sexual harassment and assault is an epidemic in workplaces around the country, there have been no questions about sexual harassment policy.
We’re halfway through the 4th #DemDebate, on the two year anniversary of the #metoo hashtag, rooted in @TaranaBurke‘s work.
Yet we’ve heard zero questions on sexual violence in any 2019 primary debate. We’ve heard zero questions in at least two decades. #MeTooVoter #TIMESUP2020
— TIME’S UP (@TIMESUPNOW) October 16, 2019
There were no questions from the moderators about childcare or paid family and medical leave–policies that enable working families to thrive.
There wasn’t a single question about climate change–even though the Amazon (and forests around the world) are burning at an alarming rate, even though working people and communities of color will experience the worst effects of this crisis.
The #UnionsforAll Summit showed how important our voices are–when working people are asking the questions, the candidates are forced to confront issues that otherwise might be ignored. As Senator Bernie Sanders pointed out, “you’ve got to bring working people and young people and poor people into the political process.”
Our fight becomes even more important as the 2020 election approaches.