Working People’s Issues Won On Election Night (though not so much in NYS)
Rent control flyers are distributed in Pasadena, Calif., on Oct. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Across the country, ballot measures and new candidates delivered midterm victories for economic justice and workers’ rights.
Good things are happening this election week! Ballot measures and new candidates delivered wins for equity across the country. Illinois secured historic protections for workers’ rights at the state level, while rural Coloradans rejected a local anti-union initiative. In Los Angeles, police divestment messaging proved key to a successful campaign, and a slate of six socialists won races in the Twin Cities. Also, voters around the country approved an increased minimum wage, rent control measures, expanded public health care coverage, and an innovative way to tackle medical debt.
Read about all these state and local wins in this week’s edition of You Love To See It below, a weekly feature reviewing good news, progress, and action steps for Lever supporting subscribers.
Illinois Codifies Worker Rights
This week, Illinois passed an amendment to its state constitution to guarantee workers the right to collectively bargain and organize.
The update to Illinois’ constitution will have lasting effects for the labor movement, since it makes Illinois the first state to have a constitution that bans anti-union “right-to-work” laws, which financially undermine workers’ organizations by interfering with how unions collect dues. While a provision in the federal Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act would ban right-to-work laws across the country, the worker empowerment legislation has stalled in the Senate.
“A big important state like Illinois enshrining this right to their constitution sends a signal across the country that the right to bargain collectively is a fundamental right,” Northwestern University political scientist Daniel Galvin told PBS.
A Hyperlocal Win For Collective Bargaining
In May, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed a law granting all county employees the right to unionize. The county commissioners of Weld County in northern Colorado, a rural conservative stronghold, opposed the legislation and tried to pass a ballot measure that would exempt their county’s employees. They argued that the costs to the county would be too high, citing their employee benefits package they consider “more generous than many in the private sector.”
In defense of workers’ rights, Weld County voters on Tuesday heartily rejected the commissioners’ move to prohibit collective bargaining rights to negotiate for higher wages and better benefits.
Divesting From Police To Invest In People
Kenneth Mejia, 32, was just elected Los Angeles city controller — a victory secured by focusing on the city’s bloated police department budget. In a series of illuminating billboards targeting the Los Angeles Police Department budget, Mejia asked, “Do you know where your tax dollars will be spent?”
As a community activist, Mejia has focused on affordable housing. Now, as the first person of color to be elected to LA’s city controller’s office in a century, he is demonstrating how clear messaging on defunding the police can help center energy on funding social issues.
“This simple but powerful question… has demonstrated the strength of a divest/invest framework. It can be done!” tweeted UCLA scholar of urban transformation Anaya Roy.
A Socialist Sweep In The Twin Cities
This election cycle, the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America chapter based in St. Paul, Minnesota, endorsed a slate of six candidates, including four for state legislature, one for a county commissioner election, and one for a city council race in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. All six candidates won their respective races running on platforms based around climate justice, labor rights, health care for all, affordable transportation, and universal housing.
“I’m excited to bring a democratic socialist vision to City Hall,” said Aaron Wagner, newly elected to the Robbinsdale City Council.
Voters Approve Minimum Wage Hikes
Voters in Washington, D.C., overwhelmingly approved fairer wages by passing Initiative 82, a measure to increase the minimum wage for tipped employees from $5.05 to $16.10 — much to the chagrin of celebrity chef José Andrés. Similarly, in Nebraska, more than 60 percent of voters approved Initiative 433, which will raise the state’s minimum wage from $9 per hour to $15 dollars an hour by 2026.
Such citizen-led ballot measures have become an increasingly successful way for working people to win fairer wages. The federal minimum wage hasn’t changed from $7.25 since July 2009, but since 1996, two dozen state ballot initiatives have delivered higher wages to people across the country. If minimum wage had kept pace with worker productivity since 1968, the inflation-adjusted minimum wage would be $21.40 an hour.
While the vote is still too close to call, a similar minimum wage ballot measure could be about to pass in Nevada.
Local Rent Control Measures Are Winning
As inflation continues to impact communities, tenant organizers have won rent control measures in Richmond, California, and Orange County, Florida that will cap annual rent increases to 3 percent.
St. Paul, Minnesota, also passed a rent control ballot measure and Minneapolis, Minnesota, voted to empower its city council to enact a rent control ordinance. Similarly, Kingston became the first city in upstate New York to enact such a policy.
These midterm rent control victories build on wins from last year that saw cities prioritize worker protections in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Critics say the absence of rent control is a systemic failure by governments beholden to the real estate industry. California ballot measures on rent control in Pasadena and Santa Monica are still too close to call.
South Dakota Expands Medicaid
In another demonstration of voters’ power, South Dakotans passed a measure to expand Medicaid, following in footsteps of six other states whose voters have taken initiative on the matter when their lawmakers have refused to do so. A Supreme Court ruling in 2012 found that the federal government could not withhold Medicaid funds from states that chose not to expand eligibility under the Affordable Care Act, essentially making Medicaid expansion optional on a state-by-state basis.
South Dakota’s Republican-controlled legislature has long been opposed to expanding Medicaid and in doing so, making health care more accessible. Opponents of the expansion even tried to raise the vote threshold to 60 percent to make passing the ballot measure more difficult. That tactic was ultimately unsuccessful, and with the expansion approved, nearly 40,000 people are expected to gain health coverage.
“Citizens took matters into their own hands to pass Medicaid expansion via ballot measure — showing us once again that if politicians won’t do their job, their constituents will step up and do it for them,” said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, which supported the ballot measure.
Arizona Cracks Down On Medical Debt Collectors
With overwhelming support, voters passed Arizona Proposition 29 to protect residents from predatory medical debt. The initiative, led by the Healthcare Rising Arizona coalition, will prohibit debt collectors from seizing wages for debt repayment, cap interest on medical debt at three percent, and increase property-seizure protections for people’s cars and homes. Every year, an estimated 530,000 people file for bankruptcy — 66.5 of all bankruptcies — because of medical issues and bills.
Nearly 15 percent of Arizonans had medical debt listed in their credit file as of December 2020. The two biggest business groups in the state argued against the medical debt measure, defending debt collecting creditors they say are vulnerable because of inflation. Healthcare Rising Arizona said that organizing efforts for the initiative have already helped eliminate $3.5 million in medical debt.
Biden Admin Orders Verizon To Reinstate Organizer
In other news, the Biden National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a complaint against Verizon, alleging that the telecom giant illegally fired Washington state worker Jesse Mason in retaliation for union activities. Verizon fired Mason days after nearby Verizon stores voted to unionize.
“Following a formal investigation, the NLRB is seeking a remedy by asking the company to reinstate Mason, provide him with compensation for lost wages and consequential damages, and issue a letter of apology for terminating his employment in an act of retaliation,” the Communications Workers of America wrote in a statement. “The complaint also finds evidence that management at Mason's retail location misled and intimidated workers in an effort to discourage them from organizing, including threatening to withhold benefits from employees if they voted for a union.”
The NLRB’s move is the latest example of the board taking an aggressive stand against illegal union-busting tactics commonly employed by powerful companies.