Colin Allred on Jobs

Endorsed by the Texas AFL-CIO

Labor : Make it easier or harder for unions to organize?
• Colin Allred (D): Easier. "It's critical that we protect the right to organize." Supported the PRO Act providing protections for workers trying to organize. Is endorsed by the Texas AFL-CIO.
• Ted Cruz (R): Mixed. Opposed USDA's partnering with a farmworkers' union in an agricultural pilot program. Supported increasing rail union workers' number of paid sick days.

Raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour

Minimum Wage : Raise federal minimum from $7.25/hr?
• Colin Allred (D): Yes. "I'm running for Senate to fight for $15/hr." In 2019 voted to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.
• Ted Cruz (R): No. Opposed raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Wage increases mean that people lose jobs; "the most vulnerable" are hurt.

Strengthen union organizing rights.

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.