OK, y'all know the rules. Two hundred words or less, contains a policy point in the first sentence and begins with the phrase "I am the only candidate who..."
Being at YearlyKos, I didn't do near my usual promotion/incessant nagging so we're short a couple of answers, but we'll let the couple we missed trickle in.
On the plus side, we're starting to see candidates really accentuate quntifiable differences here. Was the AFL-CIO debate only the beginning? I hope so -- I love a good policy brawl.
So without further ado, on the subject "Labor":
From Biden:
I am the only candidate to vote for the minimum wage increase that was enacted this year as part of the Supplemental bill that every other candidate voted against or said they would have. It was a unique opportunity to push through the minimum wage for our everyday heroes here at home. While Republicans usually block efforts to increase the minimum wage, we had them caught this time. I voted to provide our troops with the equipment they needed while providing working Americans with a long-overdue pay raise.
This administration declared war on labor the day they came in. I will put a stop to that. As president, the first thing I would do is appoint people to the NLRB who can say the word "Union." I am also a co-sponsor of EFCA, because if you get register to vote by signing your name, you ought to be able to register to join a union by signing your name.
I strongly opposed efforts to restrict OSHA coverage, I support the Family and Medical Leave Act and co-sponsor the Healthy Family Act, I opposed CAFTA and I will fight for better labor and environmental standards in trade agreements.
From Edwards:
I am the only candidate who has participated in over 200 activities during the last three years to support workers across the country. I have helped more than 20 national unions organize thousands of workers. Walking picket lines, calling and writing to employers, and meeting with workers, I have seen what unions go through to protect the right to organize, bargain collectively and get decent wages and health care for workers. We need a president who fights for working families, not corporate lobbyists and their clients. We can?t trade our insiders for their insiders.
Guaranteeing universal health care is the most important thing we can do to strengthen the middle class and working class in this country. I was proud to be the first candidate to offer a detailed plan for true universal care that offers the option of a public plan for every American. As president, I will make passing the Employee Free Choice Act a top priority to give workers a real choice in whether to form a union. I will also ban the permanent replacement of striking workers, enact smart trade policies, protect prevailing wages and overtime pay, and issue mandatory rules for worker safety and real standards for outsourcing.
From Obama:
I am the only candidate whose policies have been shaped by firsthand experience working with communities in Chicago devastated by plant closings and the loss of industrial jobs. After the most anti-labor presidency in memory, all Democrats are committed to change. But it hasn't been a lack of good policies that have stopped us from achieving universal health care or a living wage or a secure retirement. It's a political system that gives too much influence to lobbyists and too little to the American people. I've walked the walk on these issues. I recently walked the picket line with members of UNITE HERE Local 1 in Chicago, and I've said that if they are still fighting four years from now, I will be back on that picket line as President. I will also work to pass the Employee Free Choice Act because if a majority of workers in an organization want a union, they should get one. I'll also fight to expand collective bargaining rights, protect overtime pay, improve worker safety and prevent workplace discrimination. And we'll create jobs in manufacturing and high-tech industries, and invest in transitional job programs. Finally, I will sign trade agreements that protect American workers and stand firm against agreements like CAFTA that fail to live up to our labor and environmental benchmarks.
From Dodd:
I am the only candidate who scored 100% on the 2006 AFL-CIO Congressional report card, and I've stood with unions for 32 years. I fought through 7 years and 2 vetoes to pass the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allowed 50 million American workers to care for themselves or a family member without worrying about losing their jobs -- and I recently authored legislation expanding FMLA to include paid leave. I wrote the first federal childcare law since World War II, ensuring children have safe places to stay while their parents are working. I authored the FIRE and SAFER Acts, which provide firefighters the necessary equipment, training, and resources to do their jobs safely. And I wrote the RESPECT Act to overturn the Kentucky Rivers Decision that stripped collective bargaining rights from thousands of nurses and others.
A vibrant labor movement will be a centerpiece of my Presidency because strong unions mean a stronger middle class and a stronger America. Union families know that I've had their backs for 32 years -- we've fought together to protect pensions, strengthen our schools and expand access to affordable health care. They've never had to look over their shoulder - and when I'm elected President, they never will.
From Hillary:
Hillary Clinton supports strong environmental and labor standards in trade agreements so that American workers can compete on a level playing field. She has introduced legislation to assess trade agreements every five years to make sure that they are being properly enforced.
Hillary is focused on keeping good jobs in America. She will take a hard look at the tax code to ensure that it is not rewarding companies for moving jobs overseas rather than creating jobs here. She also believes it is important to invest in America's manufacturing capabilities.
Hillary is an original co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, which will level the playing field between workers and employers and ensure that employees will not be unfairly punished by their employers for attempting to unionize.
Hillary has proposed a Strategic Energy Fund, which would provide $50b to stimulate job growth in all alternative energy fields in order to create jobs all across America.
Hillary will continue to fight for increases in the minimum wage and to peg Congressional pay raises to increases in the minimum wage. Last night Hillary participated in the AFL-CIO Forum (see http://hillaryhub.co...), and she showed once again that, as President, she will be a champion for America's working men and women.
From Kucinich:
I am the only candidate who can answer this question without being forced to answer a follow up question for you to know my position on issues that affect the working people in America. "In my first week in office, I will notify Mexico and Canada that the United States is withdrawing from NAFTA. I will notify the WTO, that the United States is withdrawing from the WTO." Labor has stood almost alone while corporations have cut wages and benefits and jettisoned retirements through bankruptcy strategies. When the average CEO makes 531 times the average worker's pay we need changes in proportion to that discrepancy; anything less is a slap to our workers face. We have high unemployment and a decrepit infrastructure, millions of manufacturing and high-tech jobs are being shipped overseas. I have a plan that will turn our problems around. Pull out of NAFTA, return jobs that have been lost, including high-wage jobs in the information technology field. Initiate a WPA-style local jobs program that puts Americans back to work rebuilding America, we can create millions of jobs and simultaneously improve our quality of life. The Kucinich plan calls for the creation of a low-cost federal financing mechanism to administer $50 billion in zero-interest loans every year to localities for infrastructure projects for ten years. Twenty percent of these funds would be targeted for school construction and repair. The Kucinich plan also calls for a 15% reduction in the military budget, redirecting that $65 billion towards hometown security issues such as education, jobs, and health care for all.
From Richardson:
I am the only candidate for president who has advocated giving organized labor a real seat at the table: when I'm President, I will appoint a union member as my Secretary of Labor. In recent years, unions across this country have raised their voices, but President Bush hasn't been listening. In New Mexico, workers have never had to shout, because I've offered them a seat at the table. That means we have union representatives on every state board affecting union membership, and in my cabinet. One of my first acts as Governor was to restore collective bargaining rights to our hardworking state employees. Now all public employees have the right to negotiate fair contracts, including fair share. My administration negotiated the first Public Works Project Labor Agreement in New Mexico history and we made our prevailing wage a union wage. We dramatically increased health benefits for our state employees so now virtually every employee has access to quality affordable health insurance. I've enjoyed the endorsements of every major union in my state. As President, I will continue my record of fighting for workers, fighting for families and fighting for unions.
