Bernie Sanders

Sanders Campaign Press Release - Labor Backs Bernie in New Hampshire

October 31, 2015

CONCORD, N.H. – Surrounded by workers at a union hall, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday welcomed support from organized labor and detailed proposals to create millions of jobs, raise pay and reform trade policies.

"We have an economy that is rigged," Sanders said at a news conference outside an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union hall.

The senator spoke after he was introduced by Dennis Beaudoin, president of the IBEW Local 490, Janice Kelble of the American Postal Workers Union in New Hampshire and Chris Peck, vice president of the Service Employees International Union Local 560 in Hanover. The postal workers statewide union and the two local trade unions have endorsed Sanders.

Sanders said he was proud to have the support of the unions.

"They understand that at a time when the middle class of this country continues to disappear, we need an economy that works for the middle class and not just the top 1 percent.

"Instead of giving tax breaks to millionaires and large corporations, we need to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and create millions of decent-paying jobs," Sanders added.

"Instead of having trade policies that send American jobs to China, corporate America has got to re-invest in this country and create decent-paying jobs in America," the senator and Democratic presidential candidate said.

Sanders laid out his plan to create 13 million jobs by investing $1 trillion in rebuilding roads, bridges, railroads and other infrastructure projects.

He called for an increase in the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour. "Millions of Americans are working at wages that are too damn low," he said.

He insisted on pay equity for women workers. "It is not acceptable that women are making 79-cents on the dollar compared to male workers," he said.

He reiterated his opposition to job-killing trade deals – like the proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership – which have shut down factories in the United States and eliminated millions of manufacturing jobs.

Bernie Sanders, Sanders Campaign Press Release - Labor Backs Bernie in New Hampshire Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/314347

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