Ro Khanna on Jobs

Make it easier to file equal-pay lawsuits

Occupational segregation exists in many sectors. Women are egregiously underrepresented in top positions at our leading companies. Only 4.2% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. We should spotlight the companies that are dedicated to hiring women and helping women ascend the corporate ladder.

We should make it easier for women to report wage discrimination and to file equal-pay lawsuits so that employers are held accountable. The federal government should provide resources to workers and businesses about how to report wage discrimination, and all businesses should be mandated to post the guidelines where they are accessible to all employees.

Raise the minimum wage to $15

We should raise the minimum wage to $15--what it would be if it had kept up with inflation over the past 40 years--and index it to inflation thereafter. In the Bay Area where the cost of living is especially high, it is essential for workers to have a baseline of economic security so they can provide for themselves and their families. I am encouraged to see that raising the minimum wage is gaining bipartisan support and I am committed to working with Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to make sure people working full-time in minimum wage jobs can support their families.

Sponsored bill for strengthening union organizing.

H.R.842 & S.420: Protecting the Right to Organize Act: This bill expands various labor protections related to employees' rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace:

1. revises the definitions of employee, supervisor, and employer to broaden the scope of individuals covered by the fair labor standards;
2. permits labor organizations to encourage participation of union members in strikes initiated by employees represented by a different labor organization (i.e., secondary strikes); and
3. prohibits employers from bringing claims against unions that conduct such secondary strikes.

Biden Administration in SUPPORT: The Administration strongly supports The PRO Act. America was not built by Wall Street. It was built by the middle class, and unions built the middle class. Unions put power in the hands of workers. H.R. 842 would strengthen and protect workers' right to form a union by assessing penalties on employers who violate workers' right to organize.

Rep. Mo Brooks in OPPOSITION: H.R. 842 [is] a radical union bill that tramples the rights of citizens by forcing them to enter into union servitude, including:

• Overturns right-to-work laws in 27 states, thereby forcing citizens, against their will, to pay millions of dollars in dues to labor unions.
• Denies citizens' rights to vote by secret ballot on whether to join a union by imposing a biased "card-check" scheme.
• Deprives individuals of entrepreneurial opportunities. The PRO Act would eliminate the franchise industry and sharing economy as we know them.