Opinion: We must work together to deliver for Nevada workers

“We must all work together for an agenda that strengthens the labor movement and helps Nevada workers get ahead,” Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen writes in an op-ed. “People’s families are on the line, and they can’t afford anything less.”

Like so many Nevadans, I grew up in a working class family. I worked multiple jobs and took out student loans to make ends meet while putting myself through college. This included working as a cocktail waitress at Caesars Palace, where I was a proud member of Culinary Workers Union Local 226. I saved my tips in envelopes so I could pay my monthly bills, afford my tuition, and become the first in my family to graduate from college.

Nevada has a strong and proud labor movement that helps working families join the middle class and achieve the American Dream. One job should be enough – and every worker deserves fair pay and quality of life, including good health care and benefits, a safe workplace, and a secure retirement.

In the Senate, I’ve been proud to get things done for hardworking Nevadans. I took on the big drug companies to cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month and finally allow Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug costs. I worked with Democrats and Republicans to make historic investments in rebuilding Nevada’s infrastructure, all while creating thousands of good-paying union jobs for our state.

There’s a lot more we need to keep fighting for. We need to take on price gouging and help Nevadans keep up with the rising costs of everyday essentials, from groceries and gas to rent and child care. We need to pass the PRO Act to strengthen workers’ rights across the country to form a union and bargain for better wages and benefits. We need to raise the federal minimum wage to a living wage across the country, and get rid of the subminimum wage that allows employers to underpay their employees. We need to double down on investments in job training programs and apprenticeships, so Nevadans can get the skills they need to build a good life — even if they never went to college or decide to change careers.

Nevada has the highest concentration of tipped workers in the country. That’s why I’ve joined a bipartisan effort to pass the No Tax on Tips Act. This legislation would fully exempt tips from federal income tax and let workers keep more money in their pockets. As Congress considers tax reform next year, I’ll be pushing for tax relief for tipped workers as well as broad-based tax cuts that help the middle class, invest in working parents, and bring down the cost of housing.

My work on these issues is inspired by the advocacy of labor allies like the Culinary Union. Their historic contract wins last year secured record wage increases for five years, reduced workload requirements, and strengthened job safety rules and protections on behalf of tens of thousands of guest room attendants, food servers, bellmen, and bartenders, and more. That kind of progress is why unions matter.

Unfortunately, Culinary workers have also faced false and unfair attacks during this election year that couldn’t be further from the truth.

For decades, the Culinary Union has supported efforts to lower health care costs and expand access to quality health care. They’ve stood up to the big drug companies to help lower prescription drug costs and increase transparency on drug pricing, and they’ve fought back against extreme Republican efforts to jeopardize Nevadans’ access to health care. 

Deliberately misleading negative ads from Democrats this year arguing that the Culinary Union is aligned with Donald Trump, MAGA Republicans, and the pharmaceutical industry were troubling and wrong. This kind of deceptive message undermines our collective fight for union workers.

As your Senator, I’m committed to partnering with groups like Culinary 226 – and all of Nevada labor – to lower costs and taxes for working families, and to take on the corporate special interests raking in record profits at the expense of regular people.

We must all work together for an agenda that strengthens the labor movement and helps Nevada workers get ahead. People’s families are on the line, and they can’t afford anything less.