I am pro-worker and pro-union. I began learning about and fighting for workers’ rights just out of college, when I was trained in community organizing by the farm workers. I also organized and led contract negotiations as a member of SEIU. With young people’s economic security threatened by student debt, rising housing costs, significant shifts in the job market, and the staggering toll of the pandemic on low-income workers of color,  I’m happy to see a resurgence of unions and will do all I can to support them from Beacon Hill. 

I’ll be an advocate for workers on issues like protecting gig workers and stopping wage theft. As the economy shifts more toward service and information industries and gig jobs, we need to re-examine the difference between full-time workers and independent contractors. We can strengthen existing rules to maintain worker flexibility while protecting workers from abuses and misclassification that denies them important benefits. We also need a strong anti-wage theft law to protect workers from this billion dollar problem in Massachusetts. While most business entities are good faith actors, it is time to hold corporate entities accountable when wage theft occurs.