President Obama Brings Workers’ Issues to Center Stage in State of the Union Address

The President’s State of the Union address Tuesday reminded us all of one of the key principles we continue to fight for: everyone deserves a fair shot, and everyone should pay their fair share.

Working families should not have to pay more just so the wealthy can pay less. Congress should follow President Obama’s call to support working families by raising the federal minimum wage, closing the wage gap, and protecting the social safety net programs on which hardworking Americans rely. Something clearly doesn’t add up when the average working family can’t afford quality preschool, while the wealthiest Americans saw their incomes quadruple in recent years.

President Obama also said one of his top priorities will be to pass a comprehensive immigration reform plan. Jobs with Justice Executive Director Sarita Gupta said, above all else, we need to focus on protecting all workers in immigration reform. “We can create new ladders of opportunity for those who work hard for a living by guaranteeing that workers’ rights protections are at the forefront of the immigration reform debate,” she said. “We cannot raise standards for all workers — immigrant and U.S.-born alike — until we guarantee the rights of each and every worker.”

Jobs with Justice/American Rights at Work look forward to engaging our network of local coalitions to stand up for these issues. We agree with President Obama: it’s time to get things done.