Our Workers Can't Afford to Wait
For many, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a wake-up call. We’re now seeing, more clearly than ever, how those on the front lines (in our grocery stores and our gas stations, our pharmacies, and our restaurants) are integral to our economy and our communities. These are the people who are keeping us safe and healthy right now. These are the ones who are literally standing between us and this devastating virus.
Yet these are also the people who are still not paid a livable wage. These are the people who don’t have affordable health insurance; many are foregoing healthcare entirely because it’s too expensive. These are the people who can’t afford reliable daycare because Massachusetts daycares are the 2nd most expensive in the country. And these are the people who, when crisis strikes, have no lifeboat to get them through.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, I started the South Shore Tip Jar — a way for those in our community who wanted to help to donate what they would have paid in tips (if they could go out) to those not working because of the pandemic. As our list of workers grew well past 100), the amount each worker would receive from our donations decreased.
As I made the weekly payouts to the workers, I felt guilty that the amounts weren’t larger. I felt defeated that I wasn’t doing more to help. I felt concerned that this just wasn’t enough.
And then I received this message:
“Thank you so much! Just so you know, it came in handy as I came up short in the grocery line.”
The amount she had received that week from the Tip Jar was $4.03.
Our workers can not afford to wait.
That’s why I’m launching my Fighting for the Front Line series. Each week, I’ll be releasing a new plan outlining how I will support those who are hardest hit by COVID-19 when I am in the Massachusetts State Senate. From nurses to small business owners to teachers and beyond, too many of our residents are suffering right now due to inequalities and inequities created and perpetuated by our government.
My first plan focuses on workers, and on ensuring they are not only paid by a livable wage but have access to the health care, child care, and job protection they deserve.
When I’m in the State Senate, I WILL fight for the front line, and here’s how:
A LIVABLE WAGE
Workers deserve to make a livable wage to support their families, without having to work multiple jobs or sacrifice necessary healthcare or other expenses to put food on the table.
That is why I will advocate for increasing the minimum wage to $17* per hour, starting now and not in 2023 (when current legislation increases the minimum wage to $15 per hour).
I will also advocate for adjusting the minimum wage for inflation, because as the cost of living rises, so too should our wages.
And lastly, I will advocate for eliminating the tipped wage, which leads to economic insecurity, disproportionately harms women, and has been shown to increase sexual harassment of workers.
As a small business owner, I understand the impacts that raising the minimum wage will have. Despite the research that raising the minimum wage does not reduce jobs overall, many small business owners may find themselves struggling to pay a livable wage. To support our small businesses, I will be rolling out a plan to ensure small business owners have the financial resources they need to pay livable wages and are not bearing the full burden of this necessary step.
*According to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, a living wage for a working adult is $16.74.
SINGLE PAYER HEALTHCARE
Stories of people dying because they couldn’t afford healthcare, or going bankrupt because of medical bills have become all too common. And in the wake of COVID-19, we’ve seen firsthand the dangers of a lack of access to quality and affordable healthcare.
Every Massachusetts resident deserves this access, and it should not be reliant on our employment status. In the event of a job loss or the inability to work, too many Massachusetts residents are going without the care they need, and this is unacceptable.
But we have universal health care in Massachusetts, right? Not quite.
In 2006, Massachusetts passed An Act Providing Access to Affordable, Quality, Accountable Health Care. In what was seen as a success for the state, Massachusetts had near-universal coverage within 2 years; by 2008 we had the highest coverage in the nation. Our state’s uninsurance rate has hovered somewhere around an incredibly low 2.5% for the last several years.
While this all sounds good, unfortunately, it’s not the full story. There are still gaps in health coverage, namely among younger adults. People without a high school education, families with income at or below 138% of the federal poverty level, immigrants, and minorities have particularly high uninsurance rates (ranging from 8–12% uninsured).
And “universal health care coverage” does not mean “free or affordable health care.” Annual health care premiums in Massachusetts more than doubled in the 10 years after the act was passed, and not surprisingly, employers have shifted more of those costs to their employees. According to Massachusetts’ Health Policy Commission’s 2015 Cost Trends Report, “Average family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance in Massachusetts rose from $11,400 in 2005 to near $17,000 in 2011.”
“Universal health care coverage” also does not mean “accessible health care.” A 2016 status report on the state of health care found that in 2015, over one-third of fully-insured adults went without some healthcare, partly due to difficulty finding providers and getting timely appointments. Nearly 20% of fully-insured adults reported not getting the care they needed because of cost. More than 20% of insured adults have medical debt.
ALL Massachusetts residents deserve access to quality and affordable healthcare and we need it NOW. I will advocate for a single-payer healthcare system (often referred to as “Medicare For All”) which will decrease health care costs while still providing the same quality health care (and in many cases, increasing the quality and level of services). And this access will not change regardless of employment status.
UNIVERSAL CHILD CARE
As a mom of an almost 3-year old, I know firsthand how expensive daycare can be. And I’ve seen the range in quality of daycare options, and faced the difficult choice of paying more or going with a subpar daycare option (and not all families have this choice).
Lack of access to quality, affordable daycare is one of the largest stressors on our families today. For many families, daycare is their largest expense after housing; Massachusetts has the second-highest daycare costs in the country.
The average cost of childcare in Massachusetts per family each year is $29,426. Two parents working full-time and making $15/hour bring in $62,400 each year BEFORE TAXES. After taxes, that family is likely paying more than 50% of their annual income towards daycare.
This isn’t just an issue that affects families. When parents have to make the choice between working or staying at home because childcare is too expensive, our economy suffers. The Economic Policy Institute projects that enacting universal child care would expand our economy by 0.9%, or $4.8 billion of new economic activity.
To support our working families, our children, and our economy, I will advocate for universal child care, ensuring low or no-cost quality care is available to all working families. This means expanding funding for no-cost childcare for families under the poverty line and capping childcare costs at 7% of total household income for those above it.
FAIR SCHEDULING LAWS
Too often, hourly workers are forced to wait on call (without pay) or are told last minute when they are expected to work. This is critical for making childcare and family care arrangements, balancing multiple jobs, and to provide stability in workers’ lives.
I will advocate for laws protecting workers: requiring employers to provide 14 days advance notice of hours and at least 11 hours of rest between shifts, protections against retaliation for workers who request specific hours, the right for workers to be offered additional available hours before a new employee is hired to fill them and the right to collect unemployment benefits when the employer’s failure to comply with these laws is the reason for them leaving their job.
I am pleased to sign the pledge showing my support for the Fair Work Week bill, championed by Jobs with Justice, to bring fair scheduling reform to Massachusetts workers.
PROTECT UNIONS
Unions represent the voices of the workers and are critical to ensuring workers have the compensation and protections they deserve. Yet there are still attempts, even by our own Governor, to undermine their strength.
I will advocate for protecting collective bargaining agreements and expanding eligibility and protections for workers who want to unionize. This includes ensuring municipal and public employees have the same benefits (such as the increased minimum wage, and paid family and medical leave) and protections (the right to strike).
EXPANDING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
As we’re seeing during the COVID-19 pandemic, too many workers are left out in the cold when catastrophe hits. The Federal government’s COVID-19 response temporarily expanded eligibility for unemployment benefits to self-employed workers, freelancers, and gig workers, but these workers need protections permanently.
As our economy shifts more towards a “gig” economy, more workers than ever will fall into the contractor classification. Various studies have shown that somewhere between 25–30% of workers participate in the “gig economy” and this number continues to grow. And that doesn’t include workers who consider themselves “self-employed” or “freelancers.” Many believe the number of workers who are not employees is closer to 40%.
This is a significant number of people to leave without any financial support in a time of crisis. That is why I will advocate for expanding eligibility for unemployment benefits to these workers permanently.
We need comprehensive, radical change in the Massachusetts State Legislature to pay workers fairly and equitably, give them the benefits and protections they deserve, and ensure that every Massachusetts resident has the opportunity and ability to support their families.
We need to stop putting politics over people and make this happen.