SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Sanders and Warren Sign Letter Urging Obama to Get Behind 'Fight for $15' Movement
'Mr. President, the stroke of your pen can have transformative impact for millions of workers.'
May 15, 2015
In a letter sent to the White House on Friday, Sen. Bernie Sanders joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Senate Democrats in urging President Obama to escalate his support for struggling Americans and get behind the 'Fight for $15' movement, which has galvanized low-paid workers across the nation in a collective call for better treatment by employers, the right to unionize, and a living wage.
Asking Obama to go further than his previous endorsement of raising the federal minimum wage from its current $7.25 to $10.10-- and praising a previous executive order issued by the president which raised the hourly pay for federal contract workers--the letter said the ongoing plight of workers and their families across the country demands even more bold action.
"Mr. President, the stroke of your pen can have transformative impact for millions of workers," reads the letter (pdf). "As low-wage fast food, retail and federal contract workers continue to strike in growing numbers to 'Fight for $15 and a Union,' we urge you to harness the power of the presidency to help these workers achieve the American Dream."
The letter from the senators argues that the government, like some private sector companies, has a powerful role to play as a "model employer," offering an important example in terms of wages and incentivizing others to improve the treatment of workers across the board. The letter states:
The federal government continues to be America's largest low-wage job creator, subsidizing poverty-level wages through taxpayer-funded contracts. We urge you to harness the power of the presidency to help workers. To add insult to injury, many of these contract workers are forced to rely on public assistance programs to supplement their meager incomes. [...]
You have held up profitable companies, such as Costco, as examples of model employers to be emulated because they pay their workers living wages and benefits as well as respect their right to organize unions. Now is the time to declare that the federal government will invest our taxpayer dollars to incentivize model employers that commit to creating good jobs and to rebuilding America's ailing middle class.
Last month, on April 15, labor unions and workers gathered under the 'Fight for $15' banner to stage the largest coordinated day of action yet with strikes, protests, and demonstrations in dozens of cities across the U.S. and around the world.
According to the Huffington Post:
The letter is just the latest indication that the union-backed movement has succeeded in influencing Democratic politics, and not just when it comes to state and local minimum wage laws.
Paco Fabian, a spokesman for Good Jobs Nation, said Democrats looking to run for the White House should take note of Friday's letter, which was signed entirely by Democrats and Sanders, an independent who is also making a bid for the Democratic nomination.
"For the first time a group of U.S. Senators are demonstrating strong support for low wage workers trying to improve their working conditions by proposing a realistic solution," Fabian said in an email. "The federal government's role regarding economic inequality is clear. The question is which candidates for President plan to propose common sense solutions? This letter provides part of the answer."
Read the full letter here (pdf).
In addition to Sen. Warren, the other Democrats who signed the letter are Dick Durbin (Ill.); Richard Blumenthal (Conn.); Edward Markey (Mass.); Mazie Hirono (Hawaii); Debbie Stabenow (Mich.); Ron Wyden (Ore.); Barbara Mikulski (Md.) Al Franken (Minn.); Jeff Merkley (Ore.); Chris Murphy (Conn.); Tammy Baldwin (Wis.); Jack Reed (R.I.); Ben Cardin (Md.); Bob Menendez (N.J.); Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.); and Martin Heinrich (N.M.).
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In a letter sent to the White House on Friday, Sen. Bernie Sanders joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Senate Democrats in urging President Obama to escalate his support for struggling Americans and get behind the 'Fight for $15' movement, which has galvanized low-paid workers across the nation in a collective call for better treatment by employers, the right to unionize, and a living wage.
Asking Obama to go further than his previous endorsement of raising the federal minimum wage from its current $7.25 to $10.10-- and praising a previous executive order issued by the president which raised the hourly pay for federal contract workers--the letter said the ongoing plight of workers and their families across the country demands even more bold action.
"Mr. President, the stroke of your pen can have transformative impact for millions of workers," reads the letter (pdf). "As low-wage fast food, retail and federal contract workers continue to strike in growing numbers to 'Fight for $15 and a Union,' we urge you to harness the power of the presidency to help these workers achieve the American Dream."
The letter from the senators argues that the government, like some private sector companies, has a powerful role to play as a "model employer," offering an important example in terms of wages and incentivizing others to improve the treatment of workers across the board. The letter states:
The federal government continues to be America's largest low-wage job creator, subsidizing poverty-level wages through taxpayer-funded contracts. We urge you to harness the power of the presidency to help workers. To add insult to injury, many of these contract workers are forced to rely on public assistance programs to supplement their meager incomes. [...]
You have held up profitable companies, such as Costco, as examples of model employers to be emulated because they pay their workers living wages and benefits as well as respect their right to organize unions. Now is the time to declare that the federal government will invest our taxpayer dollars to incentivize model employers that commit to creating good jobs and to rebuilding America's ailing middle class.
Last month, on April 15, labor unions and workers gathered under the 'Fight for $15' banner to stage the largest coordinated day of action yet with strikes, protests, and demonstrations in dozens of cities across the U.S. and around the world.
According to the Huffington Post:
The letter is just the latest indication that the union-backed movement has succeeded in influencing Democratic politics, and not just when it comes to state and local minimum wage laws.
Paco Fabian, a spokesman for Good Jobs Nation, said Democrats looking to run for the White House should take note of Friday's letter, which was signed entirely by Democrats and Sanders, an independent who is also making a bid for the Democratic nomination.
"For the first time a group of U.S. Senators are demonstrating strong support for low wage workers trying to improve their working conditions by proposing a realistic solution," Fabian said in an email. "The federal government's role regarding economic inequality is clear. The question is which candidates for President plan to propose common sense solutions? This letter provides part of the answer."
Read the full letter here (pdf).
In addition to Sen. Warren, the other Democrats who signed the letter are Dick Durbin (Ill.); Richard Blumenthal (Conn.); Edward Markey (Mass.); Mazie Hirono (Hawaii); Debbie Stabenow (Mich.); Ron Wyden (Ore.); Barbara Mikulski (Md.) Al Franken (Minn.); Jeff Merkley (Ore.); Chris Murphy (Conn.); Tammy Baldwin (Wis.); Jack Reed (R.I.); Ben Cardin (Md.); Bob Menendez (N.J.); Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.); and Martin Heinrich (N.M.).
In a letter sent to the White House on Friday, Sen. Bernie Sanders joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Senate Democrats in urging President Obama to escalate his support for struggling Americans and get behind the 'Fight for $15' movement, which has galvanized low-paid workers across the nation in a collective call for better treatment by employers, the right to unionize, and a living wage.
Asking Obama to go further than his previous endorsement of raising the federal minimum wage from its current $7.25 to $10.10-- and praising a previous executive order issued by the president which raised the hourly pay for federal contract workers--the letter said the ongoing plight of workers and their families across the country demands even more bold action.
"Mr. President, the stroke of your pen can have transformative impact for millions of workers," reads the letter (pdf). "As low-wage fast food, retail and federal contract workers continue to strike in growing numbers to 'Fight for $15 and a Union,' we urge you to harness the power of the presidency to help these workers achieve the American Dream."
The letter from the senators argues that the government, like some private sector companies, has a powerful role to play as a "model employer," offering an important example in terms of wages and incentivizing others to improve the treatment of workers across the board. The letter states:
The federal government continues to be America's largest low-wage job creator, subsidizing poverty-level wages through taxpayer-funded contracts. We urge you to harness the power of the presidency to help workers. To add insult to injury, many of these contract workers are forced to rely on public assistance programs to supplement their meager incomes. [...]
You have held up profitable companies, such as Costco, as examples of model employers to be emulated because they pay their workers living wages and benefits as well as respect their right to organize unions. Now is the time to declare that the federal government will invest our taxpayer dollars to incentivize model employers that commit to creating good jobs and to rebuilding America's ailing middle class.
Last month, on April 15, labor unions and workers gathered under the 'Fight for $15' banner to stage the largest coordinated day of action yet with strikes, protests, and demonstrations in dozens of cities across the U.S. and around the world.
According to the Huffington Post:
The letter is just the latest indication that the union-backed movement has succeeded in influencing Democratic politics, and not just when it comes to state and local minimum wage laws.
Paco Fabian, a spokesman for Good Jobs Nation, said Democrats looking to run for the White House should take note of Friday's letter, which was signed entirely by Democrats and Sanders, an independent who is also making a bid for the Democratic nomination.
"For the first time a group of U.S. Senators are demonstrating strong support for low wage workers trying to improve their working conditions by proposing a realistic solution," Fabian said in an email. "The federal government's role regarding economic inequality is clear. The question is which candidates for President plan to propose common sense solutions? This letter provides part of the answer."
Read the full letter here (pdf).
In addition to Sen. Warren, the other Democrats who signed the letter are Dick Durbin (Ill.); Richard Blumenthal (Conn.); Edward Markey (Mass.); Mazie Hirono (Hawaii); Debbie Stabenow (Mich.); Ron Wyden (Ore.); Barbara Mikulski (Md.) Al Franken (Minn.); Jeff Merkley (Ore.); Chris Murphy (Conn.); Tammy Baldwin (Wis.); Jack Reed (R.I.); Ben Cardin (Md.); Bob Menendez (N.J.); Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.); and Martin Heinrich (N.M.).
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.