Hi there,

Happy Labor Day! I hope you and your family are enjoying a well-deserved day of rest. If you’re spending the day as one of the millions of essential workers keeping our economy running, thank you for your service.

Growing up, I learned about the importance of worker power from my dad, a union ironworker. Throughout his life, dad fought to make sure workers like him would have the protections and compensation they deserve — and he taught me to do the same.

After working with dangerous chemicals during his ironworking days, my dad developed lung cancer, even though he’d never smoked a day in his life. Dad’s illness and death was a reminder that without robust protections for workers, even those who do the right thing can suffer.

And under Republican control of the Senate and the White House, working people are suffering. President Trump has rolled back workplace safety protections, attacked our labor unions, and blocked hazard pay for essential workers. Meanwhile, the corporations that support his campaign are making record profits.

Four months ago, I flew to Washington D.C. to vote for the HEROES Act, a stimulus package that would extend federal unemployment aid, expand paid family leave, provide hazard pay for essential workers, and provide direct stimulus payments to our families.

But instead of holding a vote on the HEROES Act, Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans went on vacation. To achieve real change for American workers, we must flip the Senate this fall.

Working families deserve leaders who will stand up for them — and when I'm in the Senate, I'll fight every day to build an economy that works for all of us.

In solidarity,

Ben Ray Luján