August 29, 2007

“In comparison with those in many other states, Marylanders are doing well.  Nonetheless, we still have more to do to close the income gaps and ensure long-term stability for all our working families.  The cost of living continues to rise, especially when it comes to healthcare, while real wages remain stagnant. And, even with the increase in the minimum wage that wage is still not enough and will quickly be outpaced by inflation.  The middle class remains elusive for our most vulnerable families.” – Donna Edwards 

Dear Friends,

As Labor Day approaches, let’s remember that it’s more than just a day off from work for parades and picnics. Labor Day is about a movement – a movement of workers that has contributed to the growth of the middle class, safe workplaces, and the prosperity of our country.  On our first Labor Day, September 5, 1882, 20,000 working people marched in New York City to demand an eight-hour workday and other labor law reforms. As the parade went up Broadway, people carried banners that read, “Labor Creates All Wealth.”[1]

< 

Sadly, we may be in danger of losing that promise of prosperity won by workers more than a century ago.   In comparison to those in many other states, Marylanders are doing well.  According to a Census Bureau report released this week, Maryland is among the states with the highest median household incomes in 2006.[2]  Nonetheless, we still have more to do to close the income gaps and ensure long-term stability for all our working families.  The cost of living continues to rise while real wages remain stagnant.  This is especially true when it comes to healthcare, as the number of uninsured continues to rise. [3]   And, even with the increase in the minimum wage that wage is still not enough and will quickly be outpaced by inflation.[4]  The middle class remains elusive for our most vulnerable families.

In stark contrast, the nation’s wealthiest are doing just fine.  In the last decade, we have witnessed some of the largest corporate earnings in our nation’s history and CEO compensation has skyrocketed.  In 2001, the average CEO from the Fortune 500 companies earned 424 times more than the average worker -- in 1979 it was 40 times as much. And the income gap between multimillionaires and the American middle class has widened dramatically since George Bush has been in office.  

Since 2001, the Bush tax cuts have shifted federal taxes from the wealthiest Americans to middle class families, according to an independent study by the Congressional Budget Office. But that didn’t stop Congressman Albert Wynn from voting to permanently repeal the estate tax that will cost our treasury billions but only benefit the very same wealthiest Americans (HR 8, House Vote 84, 4/4/01; HR 8, House Vote 287, 6/18/03; HR 8, House Vote 102, 4/13/05).  And, it didn’t stop Congressman Wynn from supporting bankruptcy laws that prevent at-risk, middle-class homeowners from restructuring their debts in order to save their homes. In Congressman Wynn’s America, the wealthiest one-half of one percent -- the CEO’s, the banks and predatory lenders -- get the nod while middle class working families foot the bill.

As your member of Congress, I will represent all  my constituents; I will not pay lip service to some, while engaging in  actions that tell a different story.  It is time for change and a new direction for Maryland’s 4^th Congressional District.  I will work to:

• Make the Minimum Wage a Living Wage.  It was a wonderful victory for Maryland’s working families when the General Assembly passed the Living Wage bill HB 1192/SB 621 (2004), an effort my opponent, Congressman Albert Wynn, opposed when it was first introduced in Montgomery County (Washington Post, 7/22/99) and then in Prince George’s County.  But I believe strongly that working people all across this country deserve to be paid a living wage that will help lift them out of poverty and into the middle class.  A living wage is a commitment to our values for work and for workers.  If you work fulltime, you should earn a salary that enables you to meet your responsibilities and realize your dreams.  As we have experienced in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, a living wage does not harm small businesses, but does raise the wage base for all workers, and contributes to the local economy as workers gain more disposable income.  

• Health Care for All.  We must enable workers and their families to have access to quality, affordable healthcare. The current system often results in denied procedures, astronomical charges for simple services, denied access to services of crucial specialists, lack of access to preventive care, and increasingly-rising deductibles and co-payments. A new system would provide stability and predictability for employers and enable workers to obtain health care coverage regardless of their employer or pre-existing conditions.  Under this system all Americans would be able to choose their doctors without the uncertainty of rising deductibles and co-payments.  There must be shared responsibility from employers and workers to keep our workforce healthy. 

• Get Big Money out of Politics and Policy.  It’s time to clean up Washington and end the link between big money interests and politics and policy. The current system, a system that rewards lobbyists and monied interests, undermines workers voices in the political process. For example, Congressman Albert Wynn has received more than $7,500 in PAC contributions from Washington Gas,  which is preparing  to eliminate  300 positions and outsource their jobs offshore through Accenture[5], another Wynn contributor.  And, when Wal-Mart sought the help of the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Congress to get advanced notice before investigations on child labor and wage and hour violations, Congressman Wynn sided with Wal-Mart and against workers.  Wal-Mart was grateful, giving the Congressman more than $11,000 in PAC contributions.  His votes for the corporate sponsored energy bill (HR 6, House Vote 630, 11/18/03; HR 6, House Vote 132, 4/21/05; HR 6, House Vote 445, 7/28/05) and bankruptcy bill (S 256, House Vote 108, 4/14/05) show he has forgotten where his allegiance should lie – with working people. I will work to restore what it means to be a Congressional Representative by representing those who send us to Congress in the first place. 

Median Wages in Maryland:   63,700

Percentage of Marylanders in Poverty:  7.8%

Some of Rep. Albert Wynn’s Corporate PAC Contributors and their CEO Salaries

Our country’s greatness has been built by working families, working hard and playing by the rules. As we celebrate this Labor Day, I ask you take a moment to celebrate our hard work and to ask what the future holds for working families like ours. 

This week, I joined a rally in support of workers at Smithfield Foods' Tar Heel plant, as they continue to fight for the most basic workplace standards—clean drinking water, safe working conditions, and freedom of association.  Like many workers around the country, Smithfield workers face verbal abuse, threats of termination, even immigration arrests as they struggle to organize their workplace.  On this Labor Day, let’s stop the roll back on workers’ rights.  Let’s fight for workers’ rights to organize for health care for all,  demand living wages and safe workplaces.

If you have any questions, please call our campaign office at (301) 316-1880 or visit us on the web at www.donnaedwardsforcongress.com.

Sincerely,

Donna Edwards

Bookmark/Search this post with:

| | | | |