Workers’ Dignity & Rights

Workers in North Carolina should have the right to unionize and collective bargain. Our reputation as a state that is hostile to organized labor needs to end. We must recognize our hourly workers and laborers as the backbone of our community.

It is absurd to think a $7.50 minimum wage is acceptable. With current inflation and high gas prices, even a $15 hourly wage can’t make ends meet for families. I cosponsored a bill to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2018 and will continue to fight for $15.

Beyond higher wages, we must provide health care, beyond the expansion of Medicaid which so far Republican have blocked. Paid family leave, safe working conditions, collective bargaining all are essential. North Carolina has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives to businesses that will move here. Now it is time for us to provide rights and protections to the people who will work for these companies.

As Barbara Ehrenreich stated in her book Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, “Every job takes skill and intelligence and should be paid accordingly.”   

Together, we can achieve economic justice and win dignity for workers of North Carolina.