Democrats announced legislation today to reduce the undue financial strain many families in the state are facing due to a combination of increased job insecurity, stagnant wages and rising costs. The package, led by state Rep. Kara Hope (D-Holt), includes eight bills and one House Resolution to provide workers the protections to ensure they receive every dollar earned, as well as the support necessary to help those dollars go farther.
“For many Michiganders, simply having a job no longer guarantees the ability to make ends meet,” said Rep. Hope. “Whether it’s because you don’t know how many hours you’ll get or when you’ll get paid, or the fact that wages haven’t increased in more than a decade while the cost of living skyrockets, more and more families are struggling to get by.”
“If someone is working and still unable to support themselves and their family, that is a systemic problem,” said state Rep. Angela Witwer (D-Delta Township). “Instead of blaming the hardworking men and women of this state, and telling them they need to work harder, we should be removing the barriers that are keeping them from building the life that works for them. Our package secures the job rights every working person in this state should be afforded while also ensuring the dollars they earn are able to go farther.”
House Democrats spent the month of September rolling out a number of initiatives to increase supports and protections for working Michiganders, including packages to crack down on fraudulent employers who steal from their workers and reforms to strengthen the Unemployment Insurance Agency and make whole the thousands falsely accused of fraud. This package provides another mechanism to ensure economic stability for the state’s hardworking men and women.
“When things like child care cost more than a monthly mortgage payment, that’s a problem, and it’s one we are easily able to fix,” said state Rep. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing). “So many people in Michigan have worked their whole lives just to stay afloat, yet can’t seem to catch a break. Michiganders want financial security, and a chance at the underlying principle of the American Dream — that if you work hard, you can get ahead. Our package is helping to make that principle as true for them as it is for anybody else.”
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