Shared Prosperity
COVID-19 has laid bare that for too long the U.S. has allowed poverty, inequality, and structural racism to go unchecked, with inadequate safety-nets and protections for workers and families. The result: an unacceptable number of lives lost in economically marginalized communities and communities of color and dire prospects for the months ahead. Natalia has shaped global initiatives around economic development and poverty alleviation, and knows that there is no trade-off between prioritizing health and supporting the economy. Sustained economic recovery goes hand-in-hand with protecting lives.
Natalia is committed to:
Fighting for 15.
With rising costs of housing, healthcare, and transportation, the Federal minimum wage has not kept up with our household expenses. Having a job is no longer enough to ensure that workers can provide for their families and live in dignity. Natalia fully supports measures to increase the minimum wage to a living wage of $15 per hour, and transitioning away from tipped systems that contribute to gender inequities and discrimination. Natalia’s own research has shown that increasing the minimum wage not only benefits people’s livelihoods, it can save lives.
Equality in the workplace.
Women still face barriers in the workplace including unequal pay, harassment and a lack of basic provisions guaranteed in most developed countries such as adequate parental leave. Black women in the United States made 61 percent of a non-Hispanic white man’s salary in 2018. Women of color are also more likely to work in lower-paying service occupations such as domestic work or healthcare assistance than in any other sector. These same occupations are the essential services that have kept women disproportionately interacting with the public during the pandemic, putting themselves and their families at risk for contracting Covid-19 without adequate compensation. Natalia is committed to amending the Civil Rights Acts and other protective labor laws, through the Equality Act or otherwise, to prevent workplace gender discrimination including protecting the labor rights of LGBTQIA+ workers.
Reforming unemployment insurance.
COVID-19 has shown that we need federal unemployment reform that ensures a basic safety net for all Americans, especially during times of crisis. Natalia will advocate for a federal unemployment insurance program that sets a national floor for wage replacement, extends the duration of unemployment benefits, and ensures continuing investment in retirement plans, even if a worker is temporarily unemployed. She will also work hard to reduce the administrative burdens of accessing unemployment insurance and other government benefits.
Paid sick leave.
A lack of paid sick time is bad for workers, bad for employers, and bad for public health. Workers should never have to choose between their paychecks and their coworkers’ health, especially during a global pandemic. Yet, more than half of people working in the service industry—many of whom are the essential workers—do not have paid sick time. By contrast, more than 90 percent of people working in management, business or finance do. Natalia will fight for a federal guarantee of paid sick leave for all employees. Further, Natalia will advocate for additional paid sick time for caregivers, to ensure that we can take care of our loved ones.
Investing in affordable housing.
The need for affordable, safe housing has never been more clear than during the current pandemic. Natalia believes in a housing first model that sees shelter as an important first step for providing financial, emotional, and health resources to those experiencing homelessness. In addition, Natalia will advocate for the federal government to directly invest in affordable housing production to ease the housing crisis’ grip on American families. This large-scale housing production should be aligned with broader economic stimulus packages and the Green New Deal.
Immigration Reform.
As a proud first-generation American, Natalia understands the power of immigration to fuel our economy and enrich our communities. Natalia supports expanding legal immigration and comprehensive immigration reform that includes a clear roadmap to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people who live in the U.S. and contribute to our society, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, individuals under Temporary Protected Satus (TPS), and those under Deferred Enforced Departure (DEP). Importantly, Natalia will denounce and fight to rescind immigration policies that discriminate against people based on race, religion, or nationality.