Dear John,

Happy Labor Day. 

Today, we celebrate the tremendous contributions American workers and labor unions have made to advance American strength, prosperity, and well-being. 

 As a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, I work to safeguard full protections for workers and their families. In March, I joined my colleagues in passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, the most significant labor law in 80 years. 

The PRO Act strengthens the power of American workers to stand together and form a union and holds companies accountable for violating workers’ rights. The legislation includes my amendment which ensures the ability of new, voluntarily recognized unions to bargain on behalf of their members for a reasonable period of time, without threat of decertification. 

Most recently, I joined my colleagues in passing the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act. This legislation makes robust investments in science and technology for American consumers, creates 100,00 new good-paying jobs at high technology facilities, and helps to diversify the pipeline of students entering the STEM workforce. 

You may be pleased to learn, I am also a cosponsor of the Protecting America’s Workers Act, the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act, and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), a historic investment in bedrock federal workforce development programs to train one million workers per year by 2028. The WIOA reauthorization contains my legislation, the YouthBuild for the Future Act which would invest $1 billion over six years for the YouthBuild program and improve opportunities for young people who are not in school or employed.

Every worker deserves to operate in a safe workplace and earn a competitive wage. Today we honor the labor activists and organizations who have made this a reality for millions. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this update. As always, please continue to share your thoughts and priorities with me.  To hear more about my work in Congress, subscribe to my newsletter here.

Jahana Hayes

Member of Congress