Jobs
“Workers are working harder and longer than ever before and are being shortchanged with stagnant wages while corporate profits continue to rise. Many feel like the American Dream is slipping further out of reach, but it doesn’t need to be this way. I will fight for an economy that works for everyone of us, not just the top 1%, because America’s economy is strongest when we all have the opportunity to succeed.”
FIGHTING FOR BETTER WAGES
Higher wages build strong communities and a stronger economy. That’s why Pramila played a lead a role in the coalition to pass paid sick and safe days in Seattle, and helped organize immigrants for raising the minimum wage. It’s also why the Seattle Mayor appointed her to the committee that developed the successful proposal for raising Seattle’s minimum wage to $15. Then on her third day in the State Senate, Pramila introduced legislation to increase the state minimum wage to $12 across the state. In Congress, she is fighting to increase the federal minimum wage to ensure all working people earn the wages they deserve, and to ensure that there are no tip penalties that particularly hurt women and workers of color working in service industries.
PROTECTING AMERICAN JOBS
Washington has a long history with trade, and it’s critical to our economy, but corporate giveaways hidden into trade deals like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) do nothing to protect good paying jobs here are home. In Congress, Pramila is standing up to these backroom deals and make sure workers are helping negotiate fair trade deals that protect workers here and abroad - including pushing for a NAFTA renegotiation process that benefits workers. The question is not are we for or against trade. The question is how do we structure trade deals that are actually beneficial to workers here and around the world and beneficial to our environment? In our trade pacts, Pramila is pushing to support domestic contractors in government procurement, stronger labor and environmental standards, and eliminate dispute resolution provisions that favor corporations and allow them to run roughshod over environmental and safety regulations.
INVESTING IN THE ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE OF AMERICA
For decades we’ve put off badly needed repairs to our nation’s infrastructure, resulting in crumbling bridges, overcrowded transit systems, and dangerously outdated electric grids, all while millions of skilled American workers remain unemployed. That’s why in Congress Pramila is supporting efforts to invest in our nation’s infrastructure, to put people back to work and make the long overdue improvements to our seaports, bridges, interstates, mass transit and energy platforms that serve as the backbone of our economy. In Washington's 7th District, she is a pushing to fully fund repairs and improvements to the Ballard Locks - the most heavily-trafficked locks in the country - as well as robust funding to keep the construction of Sound Transit's light rail extensions on schedule.