September 2022: Standing with Nurses

Dear friends,

This week, nearly 15,000 nurses across Minnesota went on strike to call for better working conditions and safe staffing levels. Right now, nurses are not equipped with the resources they need or deserve to do their jobs. We don’t have a shortage of nurses; we have a shortage of dignified workplaces in our health care system. I joined them on the picket line and will continue to stand with them in their fight for a fair contract. 

Protecting Reproductive Rights

This week, Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a bill to ban abortion nationwide. This is a cruel, inhumane attack on our fundamental right to healthcare. I will continue to fight to protect the right to bodily autonomy. This summer, I voted to codify Roe and have called on the Senate to abolish the filibuster to codify the fundamental right to an abortion into law.

Standing with MSP Service Workers 

On Monday, I joined SEIU Local 26 workers at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport to speak in support of the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act. This legislation will raise labor standards for airport employees by ensuring workers receive fair wages and benefits. Airport workers at MSP and across the country risked their health and safety to keep America moving during the pandemic. It's only right we make sure they have good wages, decent benefits, and safe working conditions. You can watch my remarks here. 

Removing Barriers to Organizing  


In the Education and Labor Committee, we had a hearing to discuss the recent surge in labor organizing and ways Congress can remove barriers to forming a union. Minnesota had one of the largest increases in union activity this year, including many Starbucks locations in our state. Labor organizing is powerful. I'm also proud my congressional office is one of the first few offices to unionize on Capitol Hill. You can watch my remarks here. 
 
Opening Doors to Those Fleeing Oppression


Last week, the Biden Administration announced their goal of resettling 125,000 refugees in 2023. For centuries, America has been a beacon of hope to millions fleeing oppression around the world. Many of our ancestors came to this country with little to nothing, seeking a better life for themselves and their children. I know this experience personally, having come to America as a young refugee after surviving civil war. At a time when more people are displaced than any other time in human history and conflicts rage in Ukraine, Yemen, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan, we should be opening our doors to those fleeing oppression.  You can read my full statement here. 

 

In service,

Ilhan Omar