• We fully support the
principle, guaranteed under federal and state laws
guaranteeing workers the right to organize, to bargain collectively and to
strike.
• We support laws that guarantee the right of , that employees are
entitled to a free choice to formjoin
a union of their choice without interference,
intimidation, or fear of reprisals from employers
and to engage in collective bargaining.
• We believe the expansion ofsupport
collective bargaining assures workplace democracy and is the best remedy to
the crucial problem of wage inequality that has meant that too many families
are not sharing in theas a necessary means to
promote economic bounty of our nation. To make these rights
meaningful, we strongly support the right of workers to strike and to do so
without threat of being permanently replaced, and we oppose all proposals,
state or federal, that would diminish this rightequality.
• We oppose the use of public funds, directly or indirectly, to pay for the
services of union busters or union avoidance consultants.
We support the creation and maintenance of full-time jobs
that provide a living wage and benefits. We are concerned by the rise in
parttime, temporary, and other contingent jobs that pay less than permanent
jobs, lack benefits, and offer no job security. This trend, demonstrated by
such diverse examples as the growth of temporary employment agencies and
universities’ increased use of adjunct professors, runs counter to our belief
in a different model. We believe jobs should deliver wages sufficient to
support families, appropriate health and other benefits, and the prospect of a
secure retirement. We support policies that promote equal pay for contingent
workers doing the same work as permanent employees, and comparable benefits or
equivalent compensation for these workers.
• We believe Americans who
work productively in a full-time job earn the right tosupport a decent living wage
that is sufficient to make ends meets and to live above povertyfor all workers.
• We strongly support state and federalan increase in the minimum wage laws to keep workers and their familities from the burdens of
poverty, and seek to restore their buying power to more
reasonable levels, including bywe believe that the
minimum wage should be indexinged
to the rate of inflation the minimum wage
assured by such laws.
• We support the state’s pPrevailing wWage
lLaw and its enforcementrequirements.
• We endorse the Responsible Employer Ordinance and its requirements,
which are: pay the prevailing wage, provide health insurance for all employees,
be affiliated with a state-certified apprenticeship program, classify workers
as employees and not “independent contractors,” provide appropriate workers
compensation insurance for employees, and comply with local residency
requirements when insisted upon by the community. We support measures to
halt abusive practices that unjustly reduce wages, such as unfair and excessive
payroll deductions for employer mandated transportation services.
• We believe that the right ofevery
workers to should be guaranteed a safe in theirand healthy work environment must be protected. Weplace and support the Comprehensive Occupational
Safety and Health Reform Act to strengthen the protections guaranteed to
workers against workplace hazards. We support, the
environmental Right- to- Know lLaws
about and adoption of a toxic chemical and
other potential dangers to worker healthprecautionary
principle. We oppose efforts to weaken workplace safety standards, or
the ability of OSHA or state-level agencies to enforce them.
• WeMassachusetts
Democrats believe in equal employment opportunitiesrights and protections for all citizensworking people and a fair chance to obtain a
meaningful job. We endorse equal access to all trades and occupations without
regardless to race, of
gender, ethnicity, race, religion, age,
gender,income, national origion, disability, or
sexual orientation, or disability. [Ed.: This is the first bullet point in the proposed platform.]We endorse equal pay and benefits for work
of comparable worth. We endorse the requirement of adequate workplace notice
and uniform grievance procedures. We call for the enforcement of civil
protections for victims of discrimination and sexual harassment in the
workplace, and for extending the statute of limitations for filing workplace
discrimination and sexual harassment complaints.
• We believe that workplace wage, worker
protection, and anti-discrimination protectionslaws
should extendapply to both
workers in the public as well asand
private sectors workers.
• We support increased assistance
for job training, work-force development and job creation programs.
• We support the creation of new national legislation
to protect undocumented workers and their families, and strict sanctions
against employers who recruit them.
• We believe that refugee and immigrant workers should have the same rights and
protections, including the right to organize, as do United States citizens.
• We oppose the outsourcing of jobs to states and countries with lower labor
and environmental standards.