Blueprint for Economic Security: Job Security

[iwasthere]

Dennis; all that and more has already been done..........In Cuba. And it apparently works because they all now drive 57 chevrolets and the government announced that this year it will provide every family with their very own rice cooker.

i would love to own a 57 chevelot then a cruz.

[Dan Moadus]

Dennis; all that and more has already been done..........In Cuba. And it apparently works because they all now drive 57 chevrolets and the government announced that this year it will provide every family with their very own rice cooker.

[irishbobcat]

Blueprint for Economic Security: Job Security

"Small businesses can't grow and can't hire unless their customers have more money in their pockets."

The nation's greatest resource is people's ability to work and contribute to the prosperity of their family, their community, and our country. The wealth of a generation is being wasted as careers and retirement plans are derailed, young people are denied the opportunity to develop skills, and personal wealth shrinks – in many cases permanently.

While conservatives see this moment opportunistically as one to attack workers and roll back labor standards that people fought and died for over decades, progressives know that now is the time we must do exactly the opposite. Historic advances in workers' rights were a major factor in the country's recovery from the Great Depression, providing economic security for working families and even fulfilling the promise that everyone who is willing to work has the means to support their family. 

Policy Options to increase Job Security for 2011 include:

Paid Sick Days: Enabling people to accrue paid sick leave provides workers with an essential element of economic security – knowing that you won't lose your job, or the roof over your head, just because you or your child get sick.
Wage Law Enforcement: Merely strengthening enforcement of wage-and-hour laws would bring crucial relief to millions of working families simply by ensuring they are paid the wages they are legally owed.  Specific measures include increasing penalties and damages, banning misclassification of employees as independent contractors, prohibiting retaliation against workers for complaining about wage theft, and enabling workers to obtain relief more quickly.
Restore the Minimum Wage: Restoring the minimum wage to its value in 1968 (~$10/hour) when the middle-class was its most robust and the gap between the rich and the poor was at a historic low would boost consumer spending, small business growth, and job creation by putting money in low-wage workers' pockets.