ECONOMY

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the deep economic inequality in our country that has persisted for many decades. Many workers have lost paychecks and health care, while others put their lives on the line for meager wages. The economy we have is not the economy that we deserve. The UAW believes in a fair and equitable economy and a labor market that provides family supporting wages to all workers. The least well off among us should have enough for a decent standard of living.

KEY POINTS

Pass the HEROS ACT. Support the HEROS Act to provide much needed support to workers in need of workplace protections, those who are unemployed and need assistance with food, rent and making ends meet. HEROS also provides help for states that have been on the front lines of this pandemic and are facing tremendous financial pressures.

Raise the federal minimum wage. The minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation, leaving many full time workers struggling to make ends meet.

Restore fairness to our tax system. Republicans in Congress passed a bogus tax bill with the false promise that it would stimulate investment, job growth and wage growth. What it stimulated was a billion-dollar giveaway to the rich and widening inequality.

Develop a plan for manufacturing. We need policies that help grow and support domestic manufacturing across the country, with good wages, benefits and training.

Support the PRO Act. Workers have lost power in their relationship with employers with the devastating effect of stagnant wages, lost benefits and less secure employment. We need to free workers to organize and regain power.

WHAT'S AT STAKE IN THIS ELECTION

Raising wages for workers. Manufacturing policies to create good, union jobs including support for electric vehicles

Tax policies that punish off-shoring instead of rewarding it

Investment in infrastructure that creates value for our communities and good paying jobs where workers can join unions

Shrinking inequality so that working people take a bigger share of national income

DEMOCRAT – Joseph Biden and the Economy

Biden knows there cannot be a strong economy without first dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and he has a plan to address the urgent needs for national leadership, coordination and provision of testing, contact tracing and PPE.

Biden supports passage of the HEROES Act.

Biden will rebalance power between workers and employers by holding corporate executives personally accountable for violations of labor laws. He will encourage and incentivize unionization and collective bargaining and ensure that workers are treated with dignity and receive the pay, benefits, and workplace protections they deserve.

Biden supports the PRO Act to protect the right for workers to organize.

Biden supports raising the minimum wage to $15, eliminating the tipped minimum wage and indexing the minimum wage to inflation to protect workers’ purchasing power.

Biden wants to improve the safety net for workers by expanding access to work sharing with funding from the federal government so that workers stay employed during down times. It would turn the unemployment system into an employment system which is important considering that most people get their health insurance through their employer.

Joe Biden will spend $1.3 trillion on our nation’s infrastructure and wants the investment to create good jobs where workers are free to join unions.

His plan reinstates the EV tax credit to help Americans buy energy efficient cars and he will enact policies to promote the domestic manufacturing of EVs.

He will build an EV charging network.

He will address the nation’s needs in the areas of transportation, clean energy and clean water.

He will invest in broadband to end the digital divide that has been so challenging during the pandemic.

He will modernize the nation’s schools.

He will support manufacturing in every state

Joe Biden will pay for the $1.3 trillion investment in our nation’s infrastructure by making sure the super-wealthy and corporations pay their fair share. Specifically, he will reverse the excesses of the Trump tax cuts for corporations and reduce incentives for tax havens, evasion, and outsourcing. Biden will make sure corporations pay their fair share.

TAKE ACTION

Before voting, review where each candidate stands on the economy.  The COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder that our elected leaders must have a comprehensive plan to respond to the economic crisis that has accompanied our public health crisis.  

Support the HEROS Act

Support the Protecting the Right to Organize Act’s (PRO Act)

Urge your representatives and senators to pass the Restoring Overtime Pay Act (H.R. 3197), to codify the Obama administration’s overtime rule and guarantee eligibility for workers making less than $51,000 per year.

Urge your senators to follow the House and pass the Raise the Wage Act, which increases the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour and includes indexing and parity for tipped workers.

Urge Congress to pass a comprehensive plan to address the $3.2 trillion infrastructure deficit, including energy infrastructure, water infrastructure, and transit.

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