Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) released her latest policy ideas on Thursday morning, outlining a labor plan which she touts as the “most progressive and comprehensive agenda for workers since the New Deal.”
The senator intends to put the power back into the hands of U.S. workers through five broad goals, including: extending labor rights to all workers; strengthening organizing, collective bargaining and the right to strike; raising wages and protecting pensions; increasing worker choice and control; and expanding worker protections, combating discrimination, and improving enforcement.
One of the primary focuses of Warren’s labor plans is ensuring the dignity of all workers on the job.
A key part of making that a reality is stopping employers from using traits historically associated with race to discriminate against workers. In this segment of her plan, the senator gives a shout out to the CROWN Act noting, “California has banned workplace discrimination based on hairstyles, and several states are poised to do the same. I will push to pass federal anti-discrimination legislation that includes traits historically associated with race, including hair texture.”
She also intends to codify anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ workers by pushing to pass the Equality Act.
“I’ll prohibit granting federal contracts to any company lacking a nondiscriminatory hiring policy that recognizes gender identity and sexual orientation as protected classes, regardless of the upcoming Supreme Court decision,” Warren notes, nodding to the cases sitting before the Supreme Court which would determine whether the Civil Rights Act of 1964 extends protections to LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace.
She also has plans to defend and protect the rights of workers with disabilities, as well as pregnant workers.
“We cannot have a truly democratic society with so little power in the hands of working people. We cannot have sustained and inclusive economic growth without a stronger labor movement,” Warren notes in her plan. “That’s why returning power to working people will be the overarching goal of my presidency. “