On Nov. 7, working families spoke—and politicians had to listen. Voters in the 2006 election rejected the policies of the Bush administration and the Republican leadership in Congress, and struck a blow for fairness, opportunity, real family values, security and shared responsibilities for those in this country who need our help. They demanded a new course for the United States, and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says Congress should get busy.

Working families expect the 110th Congress to immediately:

• Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.
• Restore workers’ freedom to form unions: Pass the Employee Free Choice Act and reverse the National Labor Relations Board’s recent ruling that allows employers to deny workers’ union rights by classifying them as “supervisors.”
• Overturn the ban prohibiting Medicare from negotiating with drug companies for more affordable prescription drugs.
• Stop sending our best jobs overseas: Reward companies that create jobs at home instead of giving tax dollars to companies that export our jobs.
• Reverse the cuts in student loans made by the Republican Congress.

Further, working families are looking to Congress to:

• Provide quality, affordable health care for all.
• Write new plans to provide real retirement security for America’s workers and retirees, starting with reforming corporate bankruptcy laws that enable companies to dump their obligations to employees.
• Bring our troops home from Iraq rapidly. Make our neighborhoods and nation safer and more secure by fighting the real war on terror and preparing for natural disasters.
• End the tax breaks for Big Oil and make serious investments in renewable energy to reduce our foreign oil dependency.
• Revitalize manufacturing and safeguard good jobs by ending China’s currency manipulation, restoring balance to our trade agenda and rejecting trade deals that do not guarantee workers’ rights and environmental protections. No Fast Track for George W. Bush!
• Make America a leader again in respecting human rights and civil rights at home and around the world.
• Adequately fund and support a world-class public education system for all our children.
• Develop a reasonable immigration system that protects the rights of all workers and provides a path to citizenship for hard-working, tax-paying immigrant workers who come to our nation seeking a better life.
• Rebuild America’s roads, bridges, schools, water systems and other infrastructure while creating good jobs to get the work done.

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