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Empower Workers

Rural workers earn less, are less likely to have benefits like paid leave, and are more likely to be injured on the job. But when workers are valued and have more money in their pockets, they can continue to drive demand, support businesses, and keep local economies strong. Workers should be free to:

  • Join a union and negotiate wages and working conditions through collective bargaining — without fear of workplace retaliation.1
    • Workers’ rights remain under attack by the Trump Administration with threats to dismantle essential agencies like the National Labor Relations Board, efforts to eliminate dozens of worker safety rules, rescinding an important overtime rule, and unprecedented federal immigration raids at work sites across the country.
  • Work in a safe jobsite — with explicit safety protections from heat, dangerous machinery, and toxins. Potentially dangerous worksites such as meat and poultry facilities, should be checked regularly by OSHA and have clear safety rules for workers.2
  • Increase the minimum wage nationally to $17/hour by 2030 to ensure no worker earns a poverty wage.3
  • Work safely without fear of being targeted on the job because of their immigration status or the perception of their immigration status based on their race, ethnicity, culture, or industry.
  • Take sick and family leave so workers can take care of themselves and their families.4
  • Change jobs and avoid abusive non-compete requirements.5

For more on labor, see Close the Labor Abuse Loopholes.

Notes

  1. See the PRO Act and Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act.
  2. The Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act expands workplace safety and health requirements. It addresses dangerous workplace conditions and safety for meat and poultry processing facilities by hiring additional OSHA inspectors and expanding protections for workers who exercise their rights under occupational safety laws. The Workplace Violence Protection Act requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to develop an enforceable safety standard for health care and social service workers to protect the workers in our communities. The Public Service Worker Protection Act expands the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to include public sector workers under its defined safety protections on the job, filling the gap to ensure workers are protected on the job and can come home at the end of the work day. Also see the Farmworker Smoke and Excessive Heat Protection Act of 2025.
  3. See the Raise the Wage Act.
  4. The Healthy Families Act creates a national standard for earned paid sick days; the FAMILY Act, creates a national standard for paid family leave; Schedules That Work Act protects workers’ rights to negotiate hours, location, and scheduling of their work; and the Part Time Workers Bill of Rights Act expands part-time workers’ opportunities for becoming full time and makes them eligible for family and sick leave.
  5. The Workforce Mobility Act prohibits using noncompete agreements in the context of commercial enterprises, except under certain circumstances.