Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) joins a growing chorus of Democrat candidates calling for a ban on so-called Right-to-Work laws.
LAS VEGAS, NV—Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), one of 20 Democrats currently running for President, told an audience in Las Vegas that, if elected, she would ban so-called Right-to-Work laws—laws that allow unionized workers the freedom to choose whether or not to pay union dues.
WATCH:
.@KamalaHarris says she will use the "bully pulpit" and ban right to work laws in her fight on behalf of unions. pic.twitter.com/BufbcJweTm
— Cameron Cawthorne (@Cam_Cawthorne) April 27, 2019
Harris was in Las Vegas speaking at the National Forum on Wages and Working People, a pro-union gathering hosted by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
“We need to address that both through legislation, but also through the bully pulpit that comes with the president of the United States to speak up about the need and the right that workers have to be able to organize and fight for their rights,” Harris told the audience of union suporters.
“Let’s be more specific. It has to be about banning right-to-work laws. That needs to happen,” Harris continued. “It needs to be about fighting to increase penalties on corporations that stand in the way of organized labor being able to do the work that is about again advocating for American people.”
There are currently 27 states that currently have Right-to-Work laws that forbid the ability of companies and unions to have agreements that require the firing of unionized workers for not paying union fees.
Harris’ call to ban Right-to-Work states is a common refrain among many of the Democratic candidates.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), another front runner in the 2020 Democrat primaries, has introduced legislation called the “Workplace Democracy Act” that, along with other pro-union parts, would eliminate all Right-to-Work states.
Among the WDA’s Democratic co-sponsors that are running for President are Corey Booker (D-NJ), Kristin Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and, of course, Bernie Sanders.
