Guillermina does not know how to read or write. She works as a day laborer half of the year, harvesting fruit and vegetables in the vast fields of California’s Central Valley. The other half of the year, she and her family eke out an existence on the meager wages brought in through minimum-wage service jobs. “When we eat beans, we split the beans so that they can last us for two days,” she says. “Sometimes the kids say they want milk and cheese, but we have to lie to them – that we have run out and will go to the store later.”
We all expect to work hard to make ends meet and achieve our long-term financial goals, but all too often our willingness to work hard is not enough. Those among us with limited education or limited English or marketable skills find it difficult to gain stable employment that offers the pay and benefits to support a family.
Many of us lack the education or training we need to get good jobs. More than 40 percent of American workers have only a high school diploma or equivalent or none. Another 20 percent of us have some college education but lack an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.
Education makes a significant difference in what we earn: Hourly wages for workers lacking a high school diploma or equivalency certificate are, on average, about 20 percent less than those of workers with a diploma or equivalent. Hourly wages for those of us with an associate’s degree are estimated to be 20 to 30 percent higher than those of workers with only a high school degree. Our workers with four-year college degrees earn almost twice that of our workers with only a high school diploma.
Many of us would like to start our own businesses and grow those businesses so that we can support our families and employ others in our communities. Many of our youth desire to gain employment experience and learn trades, but lack available employment opportunities or training or are not aware of programs that would help them enter the workforce.
Government action at all levels can help us obtain the education and training we need to qualify for better jobs, and help those of us interested in starting our own business or making a business more successful. If we can make a living wage, we will have to work only one job and be able to spend more time with our families. While we provide the labor and strive to better ourselves, day in and day out, we call on our employers to offer a living wage, flexible work hours and health insurance.
We seek a return of manufacturing jobs to this country, the passage of living wage laws, the enforcement of labor laws and the protection of our retirement incomes.
We urge local government to help low-income communities learn about and apply for job training and education programs and to support programs that teach business skills for those who want to start a business or build an existing one.
Our working families will benefit greatly from enactment of a local minimum wage and local policy regarding paid sick days.
Schools and municipal governments that purchase locally produced goods and engage locally based services help our working families succeed.
Public works projects that hire local workers help keep our communities strong. We urge local hiring requirements in contracts for projects receiving public funding or other public benefits.
Energy-efficient buildings and agencies that promote the use of renewable energy sources help our families stay healthy. Our working families can provide the labor to create those buildings. All we need is the training. We urge our local governments to partner with us as we move into a new, green economy.
As state support for adult education and job training programs declines or fails to keep up with rising costs, increased tuition and fees make public postsecondary education and training less accessible to our low- and moderate-income families. States provide help to low-income adults seeking postsecondary education or job training by providing (1) direct funding to public four-year colleges and universities and to community colleges, (2) financial aid to students, and (3) funding for job training programs and small business startups. We applaud those programs, and we urge expansion of state support for the programs so that more of us can take advantage of them.
State minimum wage should be equal to a living wage.
Enact state policies that ensure the availability of paid sick days so that we can afford to stay home when we or family members are sick.
Enact or improve a state Earned Income Tax Credit, and help us spread the word so that everyone who qualifies can benefit.
Set aside a portion of federal transportation funds to support community-based workforce development programs that recruit, train and place residents of our underserved communities in jobs and apprenticeships. Require that infrastructure projects receiving those funds target jobs to our low-income residents who are ready, willing and able to work.
Congress recently passed legislation raising the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour. Some 13 million of us could see our wages increase as a result. But that increase is not enough: A breadwinner paid at that rate cannot feed a family. Even two adults paid the new minimum wage and working full-time will struggle to support a family of four. The jobs we work – jobs that keep America’s offices clean, babies cared for, shelves stocked and food supplies flowing – rarely provide paid sick days, either for us as employees or for dependents in need of our care. We urge adoption of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, under which all workers could be covered and given paid leave.
For many years, labor unions have been a key driver for improved wages and working conditions for many of us. In recent decades, the share of workers among us represented by unions and benefiting from union-negotiated contracts has fallen, in part because federal labor law does not adequately protect workers’ rights to choose union representation. The law as currently structured also does not adequately protect the ability of a union to negotiate a contract with an employer.
We urge the revision of federal labor law to ensure that when a majority of workers wish to be represented by a union, we are able to choose that option. It is only right that protection under federal labor law extend to our most vulnerable laborers, including farm workers and domestic workers. And it is essential that federal labor laws be posted clearly, plainly and in multiple languages to ensure that we as workers know our rights.
It is our hope that the federal government will recognize our value as workers and productive citizens by enforcing labor laws more rigorously and imposing stronger penalties against violators.
For years, economists and poverty experts of all political stripes have dismissed the so-called “federal poverty line” as inaccurate, irrelevant and tragically low. Yet that definition persists, leaving millions of Americans to suffer as a result. On behalf of every man, woman and child seeking a better life, we urge policy makers to revise the current poverty line.
As families with incomes that are insufficient to support our families, we pay an unreasonable share of that income in taxes. We appreciate the relief offered by two federal programs, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit. Unfortunately, nearly half of all families who qualify for those credits are unaware of them or are too confused by the tax forms to take advantage of them. We urge federal agencies to ensure that every family become aware of and be given free tax-preparation assistance, if necessary, to take advantage of these credits they so desperately need.
Each year, billions of federal dollars flow to states for highway, transit and other infrastructure projects. For us, those projects could mean jobs, the kinds of jobs that could lift our families and communities out of poverty. We urge federal lawmakers to require states to target jobs created by these projects to low-income and minority residents in need. We also urge that a portion of the funds passed through to the states be used to support community-based workforce development programs that recruit, train and place low-income residents of disadvantaged communities in those jobs. Of course, we hope to see funding for infrastructure improvements not only in the wealthier parts of towns and cities but in the low-income communities where we live as well.
As America moves toward using renewable energy sources, communities are partnering with policy makers in creative ways to bring the benefits of green energy to everyone. We, in our communities, will continue to seek out such partnerships and provide input into how those changes affect our daily lives. We urge policy makers at all levels of government to redouble their efforts to find ways to offset the costs of energy efficiency. We hope to see job training for laborers seeking the skills they need to take advantage of this growing economic force.
If any of the objectives of the Equal Voice for America’s Families National Family Platform are to succeed, we must invest in our youth. What better way to instill in our children the value of work than to put them to work? We must increase funding for summer youth job programs and for employment programs for in-school youth.
Higher education is so costly that few of us can afford to better ourselves without some help from Uncle Sam. Financial aid programs can help working and unemployed people attend college programs that can lead to better-paying jobs, but funding is limited. We urge an increase in overall funding and an increase in financial aid to workers who attend school part-time.
Many of us would benefit greatly from job-training programs that address basic adult education and English as a Second Language (ESL) skills, but funding is limited. We seek expanded funding for innovative programs that help workers enhance basic skills, train for emerging industries, and qualify for postsecondary education.
Federal funding helps many working adults and those of us who are unemployed attend good-quality education and training programs, either at community colleges, community-based organizations or through labor-union apprenticeships. An increase in federal funding and more focus on programs for low-income workers/communities would provide the opportunity for more of us to gain financial security. We urge support for the creation and promotion of apprenticeship programs for young people making the transition from school to the workforce.
Small businesses are the cornerstone of the American economy. We urge policy makers to increase federal funding to help entrepreneurs in low-wealth communities create business plans and understand the rules and regulations business owners must follow. Support for training and mentoring and for micro-loans would help us start businesses in our communities.